Ranganayaki Rajagopalan

Ranganayaki Rajagopalan (3 May 1932 – 20 September 2018)[1] was an award-winning veena instrumentalist, recipient of the Kalaimamani and winner of a Presidential Award for Carnatic Instrumental Music.

Ranganayaki came under the tutelage of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer at the early age of two and started training in the strict Gurukula system, until the death of Sambasiva Iyer in 1958.

In 1952, she accompanied her Guru Sambasiva Iyer to the 26th Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Madras Music Academy (commonly known as Music Academy) and was presented with a Silver casket by the Sri Prakasa, the former Governor of Madras.

In 1979, she was awarded the title of "Kalaimamani" by the then Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. G. Ramachandran.

On 26 January 1984, she was conferred the title "Veena Visaradha" in a felicitation ceremony conducted under the auspices of Balasubramania Sabha.