Sangeetha Surabhi award to Dr. R.K.Srikantan in November 2007

The first Sangeetha Surabhi award was presented to senior vocalist Dr. R.K.Srikantan on 18th November 2007. Here is a brief write up about the great artist.

Vidwan R.K. Srikantan was born in 1920 to a distinguished family of traditional musicians of Rudrapatnam in Hassan district.

His initial Guru was his father, and later, his elder brother, Vidwan R.K. Venkataramana Shastry. Sri. Srikantan belongs to the Thyagaraja shishya parampara. He has been performing for over 7 decades throughout the length and breadth of the country in all leading sabhas and festival series and has even toured different parts of the U.S.A and Canada giving concerts and lecture-demonstrations. He has been featured in National Programmes and Radio Sangeetha Sammelanas.

He had an illustrious career at All India Radio, Bangalore for 32 long years serving as music producer and is a top ranking artist in the AIR artist gradation.  He is also a distinguished teacher of Carnatic Music.  He is an arts graduate from Mysore University (1947). He has won awards and titles numbering more than 50, which include Sangita Kalanidhi from Music Academy, Chennai , Central and State Sangeet Natak Academy awards, Sangeetha Kalarathna from Gayana Samaja, Doctor of Letters from Bangalore University and other prestigious awards.

The noteworthy features of Sri.Srikantan’s music are his strict adherence to sruthi, clear pronounciation of the text and equal emphasis on rhythm, with simultaneous concentration on Bhava and Bhakti aspects of music.

Dr.R.K.Srikantan’s humility, modesty and noble heart makes him a ‘yogi’ and his ‘sadhane’ has made him a ‘tapasvin’. His totally flawless presentations in concerts, at age 86, stand testimony to his unique position in the field of carnatic music.