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R.K. Shriramkumar. File
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
Violinist R.K. Shriramkumar has been selected for this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi award of the Music Academy. He had accompanied stalwarts of yesteryears including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, D.K. Pattammal, D.K. Jayaraman, T. Brinda and T. Mukta, M. Balamuralikrishna, K.V. Narayanasamy and the present day musicians such as Sudha Raghunathan, Vijay Siva, Bombay Jayashree, Sowmya and T.M. Krishna.In a press release, N. Murali, the president of Music Academy, said the executive committee of the Academy on March 23, decided to confer the award on Mr. Shriramkumar, who belongs to the family of renowned musicians from Rudrapatnam. “In the past few decades, he has been acknowledged as an authority on the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsani of Subbarama Dikshitar, which remains one of the best-known compilations of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions. It is fitting that he has been chosen for this prestigious award in the year marking the 250th anniversary of the master composer,” Mr Murali said.Shriramkumar belongs to the Rudrapatnam family of musicians. The ‘R’ in his name stands for Rudrapattinam, a village on the banks of river Cauvery in Karnataka. Grandson of violinist R.K. Venkatarama Shastry, who conducted the Thiyagaraja Aradhana at Thiruvaiyaru for almost 40 years since the 1950s, he had his initial lessons in violin playing from Savitri Satyamurthy. He was also trained in violin playing and vocal music by his grandfather Shri R.K. Venkatarama Shastri. He later received guidance in violin playing from V.V. Subrahmanyam and in vocal music from Sangita Kalanidhi Shri D.K. Jayaraman.Sangita Kalanidhi R.K. Srikantan is his granduncle (younger brother of his grandfather) and vocalists Rudrapatnam Brothers R.N. Thyagarajan and R.N. Tharanathan are his uncles.“It is God’s grace and blessings of my gurus,” said Mr. Shriramkumar, expressing happiness on being selected for the coveted award in the carnatic music world. The Sangita Kalanidhi nominee will preside over the academic sessions of the 99th annual conference and concerts of the Music Academy to be held between December 15, 2025 and January 1, 2026.Mr. Murali said dancer Urmila Satyanarayana had been selected for the Nritya Kalanidhi award. The Sangita Kala Acharya awards will be presented to vocalist Shymala Venkateswaran and thavil maestro T.R. Govindarajan. The TTK awards will go to Kathakali artiste Madambi Subramania Namboothiri and veena players J.T. Jeyaraaj Krishnan and Jayasri Jeyaraaj Krishnan. Sangita Kala Acharya awards and TTK awards will be presented with Sangita Kalanidhi award on January 1, 2026, the day of Sadas. Ms. Urmila will receive the award at the inauguration of the Music Academy’s 19th annual dance festival on January 3, 2026. Published – March 23, 2025 03:54 pm IST
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