Rudrapatnam Brothers, Shri R.N.Thyagarajan and Dr. R.N.Tharanathan, popularly known as Rudrapatnam brothers, hail from a family of musicians of repute, who zealously keep their tradition for three generations from Rudrapatna

Rudrapatna

Rudrapatna is a small village on the banks of the Kaveri river in Arkalgud taluk of Hassan district in the Indian State of Karnataka.The village is known for its rich musical heritage. The village was an abode of Veda, Nada, and Taranga, according to the renowned Carnatic vocalist, R K Padmanabha...

, a sleepy village off the Kaveri banks in Arkalgud

Arkalgud

Arkalgud, also known as Arakalagudu is a panchayat town and is one among the eight taluks of Hassan district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is situated 30 km from Hassan and 195 km. from Bangalore. The river Hemavati forms the entire northern boundary of the Taluk; river Kaveri...

 Thaluk of Hassan district

Hassan district

Hassan is a district in Karnataka state, India. The district headquarters are Hassan.Hassan district was the seat of the Hoysala Empire which at its peak ruled large parts of south India from Belur as its early capital and Halebidu as its later capital during the period 1000 - 1334 CE...

 in Karnataka

Karnataka

Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...

 State in South West India

South West India

South West India extends over the regions in the states and territories of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Goa, Orissa, and Lakshadweep....

. The great vocalist Tiger Varadachariar, on seeing the musical atmospheres here, once claimed that “Rudrapatnam is the Thanjavur of Karnataka”. Music, Veda Adyayana and studying Sanskrit

Sanskrit

Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...

 were integral parts of their family tradition.

Family

They are the grandsons of R.K.Krishna Sastry, a musician, Harikatha

Harikatha

Harikatha , otherwise called Katha Kalakshepa is a form of Hindu religious discourse, also known as Katha storytelling format, in which the story teller explores a religious theme, usually the life of a saint or a story from an Indian epic.Harikatha is a composite art form composed of story...

 exponent, playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

 and a Sanskrit and Kannada scholar, and sons of Karnataka Kalashree Shri. R.K.Narayana Swamy, one of the disciples of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri Musiri Subramanya Iyer, the doyen of Carnatic music

Carnatic music

Carnatic music is a system of music commonly associated with the southern part of the Indian subcontinent, with its area roughly confined to four modern states of India: Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu...

 and nephews of Kalaimaamani Shri R.K. Venkatarama Sastry, Prof. R.K.Ramanathan and Padmabhushan Sangeetha Kalanidhi Shri R.K Srikantan.

Musical Education

They were initiated into Carnatic music and trained by their father Shri R.K.Narayanaswamy and their uncle Shri R.K.Venkatarama Sastry the famous violinist and disciple of Mysore T. Chowdiah.

Shri. R.N.Thyagarajan

Shri. R.N.Thyagarajan, M.Sc. in mathematics, worked as a lecturer in mathematics for several years and later joined All India Radio

All India Radio

All India Radio , officially known since 1956 as Akashvani , is the radio broadcaster of India and a division of Prasar Bharati. Established in 1936, it is the sister service of Prasar Bharati's Doordarshan, the national television broadcaster. All India Radio is one of the largest radio networks...

 in 1976. He was the Asst. Director, Chennai

Chennai

Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...

 Doordarshan

DoorDarshan

Doordarshan is an Indian public service broadcaster, a division of Prasar Bharati. It is one of the largest broadcasting organizations in India in terms of the infrastructure of studios and transmitters. Recently, it has also started Digital Terrestrial Transmitters. On September 15, 2009,...

 Kendra and retired as Deputy Director, Doordarshan Kendra, Bangalore

Bangalore

Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...

 in 2003.

Dr. R.N.Tharanathan

Dr. R.N.Tharanathan, M.Sc., Ph.D. in organic chemistry

Organic chemistry

Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions, and preparation of carbon-based compounds, hydrocarbons, and their derivatives...

 was a Chemistry Lecturer and retired as Additional Director, Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition in Central Food Technological Research Institute

Central Food Technological Research Institute

India's Central Food Technological Research Institute and was opened on 21 October 1950. It is based in Mysore. A research center branch is also located in Habsiguda, Hyderabad....

 (C.F.T.R.I), Mysore. He was also a Visiting Professor and a Fellow at Max Planck Society

Max Planck Society

The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes publicly funded by the federal and the 16 state governments of Germany....

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 and a recipient of Alexander Von Humboldt Fellowship

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a foundation set-up by the government of the Federal Republic and funded by the German Foreign Office, the Ministry of Education and Research, the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development and others for the promotion of international co-operation...

. He has visited Germany several times and worked on research projects.

Musical Geniuses

The brothers are deeply influenced by the great masters of yesteryears. Their music is chaste, classical and adheres to the tradition of Carnatic music. Clarity in Raga, purity in Shruthi, stability in Gamakas, full of Bhava and correct rendering of Sahitya characterize their highly individualistic style of chaste Carnatic music.
Among the vocal duos, they are considered as worthy torch bearers of the Alathur Style of Singing in Duet and worthy followers of the Ramnad Krishnan way of producing sparks in the concert. They are also influenced by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and the great GNB.

They belong to the Saint Thyagaraja Swamy Sishya Parampara in more than one way. Musiri, their guru’s guru belongs to the sishya lineage of Manambuchaavadi Venkatasubbayyar.
Also, R.K.Venkatarama Sastry was a sishya of Veena Subbanna who in part of the Walajapet sishya parampara and sishya of Mysore Sadasiva Rao.

Musical Journey

They began their concert career in 1956 and since then have been performing regularly all over the world. They have given Vocal Duet performances all over India and several countries accompanied by internationally acclaimed top ranking artists like Lalgudi Jayaraman, M.S. Gapalakrishnan,V.V. Subramanyam, M.Chandrasekaran, Ramanathapuram C.S. Murugaboopathi, T.K. Moorthi, Palakkad Raghu, Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman, Vellore Ramabhadran, Karaikudi Mani, V.Kamalakar Rao, Trichy Shankaran, Shrimushnam Raja Rao, K.S.Manjunathan, T.H.Vinayakram etc. Akashavani Sangeeth Sammelan, Doordarshan channels frequently air their concerts. They are one of the senior most and Top ranking Grade artists in India.

Musical Specialty

Their rendering of Nayaki, Varali, Begada, Mukhari, Sahana, Madyamavathi and Thodi are hallmarks of their musical greatness.


Awards

1961	AIR Music Competitions in Carnatic classical and Light classical – awared by Dr. S.Radhakrishnan, the then president of India
1979	Gana Sudhakara by Karnataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy
1992	Karnataka State Rajyotsava Award
1995	"Ganakala Thilaka" by Carnatic Music Society, Goa
1999	Musiri Subramanya Iyer award for Neraval Singing , Music Academy, Chennai
1999	Felicitations by Bharat Cultural Integration Committee, Chennai
2000	T.S.Sabhesh Iyer and K.Ponnaiah Pillai award, Music Academy, Chennai
2002	Felicitations by Maharajapuram Santhanam Foundation, Chennai
2003	“Sangeetha Kala Tapaswi” by Vaggeyakara Aradhanotsava Samithi, Mysore
2003	“Karnataka Kalashree” by Karanataka Sangeetha Nrithya Academy, Bengaluru
2005	“Thyagaraja Prashasti” by Bengaluru Nagarathnamma Trust
2005	President(s) of the 12th Music Conference, JSS Sangeetha Sabha and awarded the title - "Sangeetha Vidhyanidhi"
2006	“Artists of the Year” by the Bengaluru Gayana Samaja
2006	“Gayaka Kala Bhooshana” by Shri Thyagaraja Gana Sabha Trust, Bengaluru
2007	“Swaralaya Shrunga” by Suswaralya College of Music, Bengaluru
2008	Swaramurthy V.N.Rao Memorial National Award, Bengaluru
2008	“Asthana Vidwan” of Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
2011	“Kalajyothi” by Nadajyothi Shri Thyagaraja Bajana Sabha, Bengaluru