N.S.Ramachandran was born as the first son of Nemam Nataraja Bhagavathar-Lakshmi couple at Kudumiyanmalai. Rajammal, Neela, Rukmini and Sarada were his siblings. Ramachandran did his schooling at Hindu high school, Triplicane, Chennai and after graduating from The Presidency College, Madras, successfully completed his M.A.(Hons) from the University of Madras. With the able guidance of veteran musician Tiger Varadachariar for over 2 years , N.S.Ramachandran authored the treatise “Ragas of Karnatic Music” at the tender age of 31. This monumental work that showcased Ramachandran’s scholarly research and erudition earned accolades not only from musicians, musicologists and the layman alike but also from eminent scientist and Nobel laureate Sir C.V.Raman too...!. N.S.Ramachandran served as the Station Director of All India Radio in several kendras. He then became the Chief Producer of Carnatic Music in the Directorate General of All India Radio New Delhi. Later he was also appointed as the Dean of the faculty of music in Delhi University. During his stint in A.I.R Trichy he directed several musical dramas like “Nauka Charitam”, “Kaaveri”, “Laila Majnu” to mention a few , that won great acclaim from the public. He was deputed by the Union Government under the Columbo Plan to study the working of Radio Ceylon and suitably advise the then Ceylon government on the planning, organisation and broadcast of Tamil programmes on Ceylon radio. He ushered in several revolutionary changes in the Ceylon Broadcasting system dividing commercial broadcasts and general broadcasts separately. The then Ceylon Government applauded and admired Ramachandran’s work and thanked him for his valuable contribution. N.S.Ramachandran was a leading Veena vidwan. He has given several veena recitals in All India Radio. His admirers included Vainikas like Veena S.Balachander, Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, etc ., to mention a few. Being well versed in Tamil, Sanskrit and Telugu, Ramachandran has composed more than 200 songs including varnams, Thillanas and thukkadas. Out of which 53 selected kruthis including 4 varnams were published in book form with Saahithya-Swara notations in the name of “Sangeetha Pushpanjali” The Thirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam has adopted his Abhogi raga kruthi “Sri Maha Ganapathe” set to Kanda Chapu taalam, played by Nadhaswaram maestro Namagirippettai Krishnan for the temple’s Garuda Vaahana Utsava Bhavani. In recognition of his achievements, the Tamilnadu Government awarded the prestigious “Kalaimamani” in 1971. He was affectionately referred to as “Gaanalola” by music lovers worldwide. He had contributed many research papers on various topics related to Carnatic music and have presented them during the December music season at the Music Academy Madras. NSR’s Sunaathavinodhini varnam “Gana naayaka” was a regular item in Maharajapuram Santhanam’s concert agenda. If the Abhogi raga kruthi “Sri Maha Ganapathe” and Dayavathi raga Thillana were Dr.M.L.Vasanthakumari’s favourites, “Sri Chandrasekhara Yatheendram Asraye’ in Sankarabharanam was Dr M.S.Subbulakshmi’s most sought after devotional...and the list is endless. Words of Praise for the book Sangeetha Pushpanjali from other musicians: