Clarinet maestro A.K.C. Natarajan: ‘Many before me have gone unsung’
The Hindu
The Padma Shri awardee talks about being recognised at 92
“Pull up your chair and repeat your question, please. I am a little hard of hearing,” laughed Carnatic clarinet exponent A.K.C. Natarajan, as journalists gathered at his house in Tiruchi on Republic Day.
The question he was repeatedly being asked was, “How does it feel to receive the Padma Shri this year?” “Wonderful, of course, and so gratifying to be recognised by the government even at this age,” he said.
At 92 years, ‘clarinet Everest’ Aenjala Kuppusami Chinnikrishna (AKC) Natarajan still sparkles with showmanship born of true talent. Not a great one for political correctness, the maestro is known to speak his mind irrespective of consequence. “Don’t write that, I’ll get into trouble,” he told a journalist as he shared a tidbit from his long career.