RUDRAPATNAM BROTHERS:

Rudrapatnam is a small hamlet near Kaveri. Although small, it has produced a number of musicians. R N THYAGARAJAN AND DR. R N THARANADAN represent the third generation of musicians from this place.

Their grand father R K Krishnasastri was not only a musician, but a Harikatha exponent, play Wright and Sanskrit scholar. “Our father R K Narayana swami, and his brothers, R K Ramamkrishanan and R K Sreekantan, are popular musicians. Our father is a disciple of Mussiri Subramania Iyer and Satri uncle was the disciple of the legendary Mysore t Chowdiah. They initiated into music besides veda adyayana” said DR.Tharanadan, deputy director of CFTRI Mysore.

He completed her Ph. D, in chemistry, went to GERMANY FOR HIGHER STUDIES, while Thygarajan joined AIR, and recently retired as the deputy director of BANGALORE DOORDARSHAN. They have been singing together for the past four decades.
“FINDING a mutually convenient time was tough. So we accepted concerts on weekends only. According to them co-ordination is very important. Our voice blends very well. We belong to the same school of padaantharam. We rehearse together, and express our caliber during ragalapana and swara prasthanam” they say.

The ancestors of these musicians were migrants from chenkottai. Then they moved to kozhikkode. Even now the family is known as the KALIKOTTAI (CALICUT).
THE Brothers possessed a chaste classical style and demonstrated excellence, in rendering compositions while they perform together at the Navarathri Mandapam. They are traditionalist to the core. They have the touch of Alathur style and are considered as harbingers of the RAMANAD KRISHNAN WAY OF GENERATING FLASHES IN THE CONCERT.

They include less renderd ragas, like nayaki, malavi, hamsa vinodini, poornachandrika. It was needamangalam krishanmoorthi, who taught us compositions of oothukad. When we performed at the US, dancer Kamala Laxman, expressed her desire to choreograph a few compositions.

The duo is invited as external examiners, by the SINGAPORE FINE ARTS SOCIETY. They have conducted many lec-dems. We do not believe in fusion. It is in fact confusion. They can be considered as a surviving strategy. WE owe to our mother and wives for managing the family. The concert albums have been brought out by Saraswathi Project Armsterdam-the Netherlands and CMANA NEW YORK.
(This article of mine was published in the week end express of the new Indian express dt, 20-11-04.)