Vijayawada, September 25, 2013: City-based Carnatic musician (vocal) Pemmaraju Surya Rao has been selected for conferment of the title of ‘Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham Asthana Vidwan’ by Jagadguru Sri Sankarachayra Swamigal Srimatham Samsthanam, Kancheepuram.

The title will be bestowed on Mr. Rao on the occasion of the 120{+t}{+h}jayanthi celebrations of Sri Chandrasekarendra Saraswathi Maha Swamigal and 29{+t}{+h}jayanthi celebrations of Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal at a ‘Sangeetha Vidwan Sadas’, scheduled to be held as part of Navaratri festival at Sri Kamakshi temple at Kanchipuram.

Mr. Surya Rao will receive the honour on October 4 (Friday) at a function to be held at 8.30 p.m. at Sri Kamakshi Ambal temple in Kanchipuram.

Born in 1934 in Machilipatnam to Pemmaraju Satyanarayana and Annapoorna, Mr. Surya Rao achieved command over classical Carnatic music under the guidance of Maddulapalli Lakshmi Nrisimha Sastry, a close disciple of late Parupalli Ramakrishnaiah Panthulu.

By the dint of his ‘sadhana’ Mr. Surya Rao shot into prominence as a proficient concert performer and received prestigious titles like ‘Sangeeta Ratna’, ‘Sunada Sudhainidhi’, and ‘Lakshya Lakshana Geya Swarakartagresara’.

A retired principal of Vijayawada Government Music College, Mr. Rao has imparted musical knowledge to innumerable students.

Mr. Surya Rao has also been associated with The Hindu , Vijayawada, as its cultural correspondent since 1975 and has co-authored ‘Vempati-The Maestro with a Mission’, a biography of Vempati Chinna Satyam.

Source: The Hindu, September 25, 2013