Something about Sudha Raghunathan..

Sudha Raghunathan's foundation in the world of music was laid at a very young age and it was her mother Smt. Choodamani who groomed her, before the onus to nurture her music fell upon Vidwan Sri. B.V. Lakshman. It seems she initially wanted to become a doctor, but the thought of performing dissections repelled her that she gave up the idea. “It wasn’t that I was a bad student. My dissections were always neat and my diagrams were perfect, but I always found myself fainting at the sight of blood!” She proved her prowess both in academics and in music and now, stood at a juncture where two roads diverged - there was ‘something’ that was needed to push her onto the road less traveled by.

In 1977, Sudha won a Central Government scholarship that gave her the opportunity to come under the wings of this master of a great parampara. From this point on; there was no turning back. Sudha had the golden opportunity to provide vocal support to MLV for about a decade. MLV - Padmavibushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Dr. M.L. Vasanthakumari, hailed by many as a musical genius, a doyen of Carnatic music. From 1990, Sudha’s rise was phenomenal, and following her Guru’s demise, she has been considered as MLV’s vaarisu. Sudha is a top ranking artiste for Prasar Bharati, Chennai and performs at important events of All India Radio and Doordarshan.

Music had now taken centre stage but for Sudha it would not be at the cost of her academics. She holds an M.A. in Economics. Being such a vivacious, versatile and highly talented individual, it’s no surprise that Sudha won the award- Outstanding Student of Ethiraj College, for three years in succession- an achievement which for a long time remained unmatched. She was the Treasurer and later the Vice President of the Students Union and won the prestigious ‘Service to the College’ medal. Sudha is a top ranking artiste of the All India Radio and the Doordharshan, besides being the artiste in demand by leading recording companies like AVM, INRECO, VANI and AMUTHAM. With her crystal clear and almost divine voice, Sudha reached out to the discerning music lovers across the world, widening musical communications across the cultural borders. Today, Sudha Ragunathan is known for her beautiful vocal tapestries, soaring solos and unusual timbres. Her creative expression in Carnatic music has no par. And, her music is known to flow straight from the heart, dripping with classical divinity. Sudha also has the unique honor of rendering 'Vande Mataram' at the Central Hall of Parliament, New Delhi on 27th January 2000 to mark the completion of 50 years of the free Indian Republic.

Awards

* Padma Sri award in the field of Carnatic music (vocal) in 2004
* Bharat Jyothi in 1998 from The Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, New York
* Sangeetha Choodamani in 1997 from Sri Krishna Gana Sabha, Chennai.
* Sangeetha Kala Sarathy from Sri Parthasarathy Swami Sabha, Chennai from His Holiness Shri Jayendra Saraswathi of Kanchi Mutt.
* Sangeeta Saraswathi from The Mahasannidanam of Sringeri.
* Gana Kuyil from Valmiki Manram, Chennai.
* Isai Peroli and VST Award for excellence from Karthik Fine Arts, Chennai.
* Kalaimamani award conferred by the Tamilnadu Government (India) in 1993