On Jan.5 and 6, Sri Nadabrahma Sangeetha Sabha will be celebrating the 63rd Anniversary. This is being conducted in memory of it’s earlier President for a decade who was a noted surgeon of the city in yesteryears. The programme is sponsored by the fraternity of doctors.

On Jan.5 at 6 pm, it is customary to give a full-fledged performance by the winner of Nadakishorotsava-2018. First place was secured by Vidu. Shreya Kolathaya. She will present a vocal concert being accompanied by Kritik Kaushik on violin, Pavan Madhav Masoor on mridanga and R. Srinidhi on ghata.

The programme is an endowment in memory of Rukmini Ammal and Sri Ramaswamy Iyengar, sponsored by their children.

Shreya Kolathaya: From Dakshina Kannada, Shreya is a native of Puttur. She had keen interest in music and Vid. Kanchana Narayana Bhat was her first Guru who laid a solid foundation. Then she learnt under Vid. G. Ravikiran, disciple of T.M. Krishna. Now she is under Vid. R.K. Sriramkumar at Chennai.

She has done her Junior and Senior Exams in Music from Government of Karnataka. She is a recipient of scholarship from the Department of Kannada & Culture, Karnataka. She has attended workshops from all the stalwarts of music world to enhance her thirst for the knowledge. She has received good appreciation from connoisseurs for her concerts. She is a Post-Graduate in Mathematics and was awarded the INSPIRE Scholarship for development of Basic Science.

On Jan.6, as part of Dr. A.K. Gopalarajan Memorial Anniversary of Sabha, at 5.30 pm, Gana Kalabhushana Vid. R.K. Padmanabha will be conferred the title ‘Nada Brahma,’ Shreya Kolathaya the ‘Nadakishori’ title while N.H. Srihari Bhat, C.V. Shruti, Kritik Kaushik, Pavan Masoor and Shyam Krishna Satish will receive the prizes won during 2018 ‘Nada Kishorotsava’ competitions.

Subsequently, Vid. R.K. Padmanabha will give a grand vocal concert accompanied by C.N. Chandrasekar on violin, C. Cheluvaraju on mridanga and G.S. Ramanujan on ghata.

A stalwart and a Nadopasaka, Gana Kalabushana Vidwan Rudrapatna  Krishnadikshita Padmanabha, who traces his roots back to the town of Rudrapatna, undoubtedly has emerged as one of the most sought after musicians today.

Having blessed by the great Vadiraja Swami (pontiff of Sonda Mutt), he stands as a musician with a unique identity. His vibrant and mesmerising voice, unrivalled rendition of ragas, krithis, pallavis and swara sancharas add to the beauty of his music.

His music is a perfect blend of emotive appeal, incredible virtuosity, technical mastery, sophistication and divinity. He has mesmerised music lovers across the country and abroad by his musicianship.

The grandeur of anything is best felt when there is an element of one’s individuality in it. This has been proven time and again by Vid. R.K. Padmanabha (RKP). And no, it’s not just his music that he is passionate about, but every other project that he ventures into.

He has carved a niche for himself in all the possible domains including theatre, literature, teaching, lecture demonstrations and promotion of music labelling him as a multi-faceted personality.

RKP has gained popularity as an innovative composer with compositions mainly on Sri Vadiraja Swami and on various other deities, musical technicalities and philosophy, musical stalwarts of yesteryears, social reformation, vaggeyakaras and Haridasas.

It is musicians like him who try to preserve and spread the rich cultural heritage of classical music, in all its glory. Laurels kept following him right from the beginning. But it’s his extraordinary persona that makes this towering personality appreciable in the music fraternity today.