R S Nandakumar

R. S. Nandakumar is an Indian Karnataka classical vocal musician, composer, and scholar. His father and mentor was an acharya of Indian musicology and danceology, Padma Shri awardee Mahamahopadhyaya R. Sathyanarayana, under whom he studied Indian music and Shastra.

Early life and background
R.S. Nandakumar was born in 1960 in Bhadravathi, Karnataka, India. He hails from a distinguished lineage of musicians and scholars. His father, R. Sathyanarayana, was one of four brothers who were then popularly known as The Mysore Brothers (not to be confused with Mysore Brothers). He is married to Radhika Nandakumar, a Bharatanatyam dancer.

Career
Nandakumar has a musical career characterized by his contributions to resurrecting, reconstructing and reviving ancient Indian musical forms. In 2012, he did extensive research into the musical heritage of the Haridasas of Karnataka. He has revived and performed various rare musical forms, such as Gadya, Dandaka, Suladi, Vrittanama, and Bhramaragita, maintaining their authentic shastra-ic styles. Kumar has performed in India and in the UK, USSR, Germany, Italy and USA.

Research and academic contributions
Nandakumar received the Senior Research Fellowship from Ministry of Culture, Government of India to do in depth study on Ela, which is one of the most ancient forms of music compositions in Indian music. His other research include significant works on the Mysore School of Bharatanatyam and a D.Litt. thesis on Sripadaraya awarded by Kannada University, Hampi, Karnataka in 2013. He has served as the Hon. Director of Prasaranga at the Karnataka State Dr. Gangubai Hanagal Music and Performing Arts University, Mysuru. He now heads Brahmavidya, Mysuru and presently serves as the president for KCMC, Bangalore.