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 Srimushnam, a holy town in Tamil Nadu, is one of the Swayamvaktha kshetras in Vaishnavite tradition which has also found a place in the musical map of the world. Who is responsible for making this town as renowned as it is today? He is none other than mridangam wizard Srimushnam Raja
Rao.
A scion of a great musical genealogy, his father and forefathers were musicians par excellence. Raja Rao’s prodigious talent surfaced when he made flutes while young. A bamboo forest near his house lured him to design the flutes. And he started playing them himself. The legendary maverick Flute Mali heard of Raja Rao’s flutes and also played them. What more does he need?
But his father, a renowned mridangist, was keen on shifting the youth to mridangam. His musical odyssey began with his father S Venkatramana Rao who tutored the lad about the nitty-gritty of the art.
 The nonagenarian living legend Kumbakonam Rajappa Iyer was Raja Rao’s next guru. Rajappa Iyer honed Raja Rao’s skills and channelised his potentials. I used to practice for a long time at an unearthly hour close to midnight, declares Raja
Rao.
His interaction with Tamil Thyagayya, Papanasam Sivan, made him learn and explore the art to a great extent. It was a treat watching Sivan composing music, which made me swim in our rich heritage, reminiscences Raja Rao nostalgically. A true nadopasaka he used to invite Bhagavathars home who rendered the kirtanas umpteen times and he accompanied them which made him perfect his techniques.
Raja Rao, the watchful guardian of music, trains students at home. Gurukula vasam is still in vogue here, declares one of his students who resides with him.
An acme of perfection in laya, Raja Rao has accompanied almost all titans of music, past and present. He is a great source of inspiration to budding artistes.
He opines that every concert is an exam and the inputs will be audible on the stage. Raja Rao strongly feels that an artiste should scale great heights instead of remaining contented with his achievements.
Though his schedule is packed throughout the year, yet it reaches a crescendo during the December music season when he plays two to three slots a day. This regular globe-trotter has carried the torch of classical music to generations by organising the acclaimed Cleveland Tyagaraja Utsavam in USA and is one of the founding fathers of the mega music mela. He is involved in spreading our priceless treasure in India also.
 He is a good vocalist and is adept at playing on the kanjira too.
Humour is a part of his life and he recalls humorously even a sojourn in a hospital, as he became a victim of the doctors.
Every part of his body seems to move in rhythm.
He has earned plaudits from the press, government and sabhas. His wife Padma is an accomplished
vocalist and his son Raghavendra is a budding vocalist.
His contact address is:
Srimushnam Raja Rao
New No 57/3, Old No: 23/3, Moosa Street,
T Nagar,
Chennai - 600017
Phone: 24346792
Mobile 94440 56792
E-mail srimushnam@yahoo.com
Website:
www.srimushnamrajarao.com
Mira
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