A. K. C. Natarajan (born 30 March 1931) is a

carnatic music Carnatic music (known as or in the Dravidian languages) is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including the modern Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and southern Odisha. It is o ...

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

player. He was awarded the Madras Music Academy's Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 2008. He received a

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (IAST: Saṅgīta Nāṭaka Akādamī Puraskāra), also known as the Akademi Puraskar, is an award given by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama. It is the highest Indian recogni ...

in 1994. He was bestowed with the title ''Nadha Dweepa Kalanidhi'' by Nadhadweepam Trust, Tiruchirappalli. He learnt vocal music from Alathur Venkatesa Iyer and his nagaswaram teacher was Iluppur Natesa Pillai, brother of the

thavil A ''thavil'' (Tamil:தவில்) or ''tavil'' is a barrel-shaped percussion instrument from Tamil Nadu. It is also widely used in other South Indian states (Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Telangana) as well as in the North and East of ...

maestro Iluppur Panchami. In 2022, Natarajan was awarded a

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth-highest honour that can be bestowed upon a civilian in India, for contribution in the arts."Padma Awards 2022: From folk artists to painters, meet the awardees recognised for their work in the field of art and culture"
'' indianexpress.com''. 22 March 2022. Retrieved 3 October 2022.

References

1931 births Carnatic instrumentalists Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Tamil musicians Musicians from Tiruchirappalli Living people Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship {{India-musician-stub