K.N. Renganatha Sharma

Dr. Shertallay K.N. Renganatha Sharma is a renowned Carnatic music singer with a doctorate in music. Hailing from a family of musicians, he is the son of Smt. Lakshmi Ammal and Sangeetha Vidwan and Acharya Sri Cherthala K. Narayana Iyer, under whom he trained in the gurukula system from the age of five for about fifteen years; his music is steeped in the Semmangudi tradition. He gave his debut concert at the age of 13 at Sri Dhanvanthari temple, Cherthala. He is an A-Top Grade vocal artist of All India Radio and Doordarshan. He earned his graduation and post-graduation in music from Calicut University with First Rank, an M.Phil at Madras University in 1990 under musicologist N. Ramanathan, and a doctorate at Madurai Kamaraj University on the laya aspects of Carnatic music. He began teaching in 1993 at Sri Sathguru Sangeetha Vidhyalayam in Madurai, serving as Associate Professor and later Principal before taking voluntary retirement in 2017 after 24 years. His awards include Best Raga Alapana (2008) and Best Outstanding Vocalist (2010) at the Madras Music Academy, the Kalasri award from the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (2010), and the Distinguished Music Guru award from Kartik Fine Arts (2015). He holds the title Asthana Vidwan of Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam and Mysore Datta Peetam, and with his wife Smt. Mohana Sharma runs the music academy Amritavarshni.