Violinist RK Shriramkumar, who has accompanied MS Subbulakshmi and TM Krishna, awarded Sangita Kalanidhi by the Music Academy

Shriramkumar has accompanied generations of artistes including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, MS Subbulakshmi, DK Pattammal, T Brinda and T Mukta, M Balamuralikrishna, and the current crop of significant artistes such as Sudha Ragunathan, Bombay Jayashri, and Krishna, among others.

Shriramkumar has been named this year’s Sangita Kalanidhi awardee by the Music Academy. The award, the highest honour in Carnatic classical music, given to Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna last year had sparked controversy due to a section of musicians uncomfortable with the musician’s views on MS Subbulakshmi, Tyagaraja and political activist Periyar, a founding figure of the Dravidian movement.

Musician duo Ranjani-Gayatri decided to not sing at the December Music Season, Chithravina Ravikiran returned his Sangita Kalanidhi.

In a statement for the announcement of the award, N Murali, president, Music Academy, said that in the past few decades, Shriramkumar had been acknowledged as an authority on composer and writer Subbarama Dikshitar, whose book Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini “remains one of the best-known compilations of Muthuswami Dikshitar’s compositions”. “It is fitting that he has been chosen for this prestigious award in the year marking the 250th anniversary of the master composer,” added Murali.

Shivakumar comes from an illustrious family of musicians. Besides his famous grandfather, who taught him the nuances of violin, he also trained under noted vocalist DK Jayaraman to make sure that the violin understood how it is supposed to resound alongside a musician, never overpowering it.

After his debut at 15, he began playing with stalwarts of music and learned a slew of compositions from Subbulakshmi and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, thus expanding his universe. It also helped him turn into a composer.

In 2017, when Krishna decided to sing Poromboke, turning a common Tamil slur into a bold environmental, social, political and artistic statement, which took on the unconcerned government and corporate hunger, Shriramkumar composed it for him.

Shriramkumar as the Sangita Kalanidhi nominee will preside over the 99th annual conference and concerts of the Music Academy, which will be held this year in December.