Noted singer and nattuvangam exponent Bhagavatula Seetharama Sharma died on Sunday. He was 81, and is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son.

The artiste was tuning his shruthi in preparation for an arangetram in Bengaluru, when he was said to have suffered a heart attack.

“He suffered a heart attack and died on his way to hospital. His body would be brought to Chennai and the cremation would be held on Tuesday,” said Deepa Ganesh, one of his disciples.

Born in Kuchipudi in Andhra Pradesh, Seetharama Sharma developed a profound knowledge in all the three aspects of sangeetham — geetam, vadyamand nrityam. Noted carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna is among his disciples.

He served in Kalakshetra, dedicated himself to the institution and became an integral part of the majority of Rukmini Devi’s Naatya productions.

His first public recognition came from the Dhananjayans Bharatakalanjali, Chennai, way back in the 1970s, and he was awarded the title ‘Sangeetagna’.

Last year, Bharat Kalachar honoured him with a special commemorative and lifetime achievement award. He was also a recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for ‘Naatya’.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Tamil Nadu / by Special Correspondent / Chennai – December 11th, 2017