Charumathi Raghuraman

Charumathi Raghuraman is a Carnatic classical violinist from India, born in Mumbai into a family of musicians. She began learning the violin under the guidance of her mother, Smt. Rama Raghuraman, a Carnatic vocalist, later received formal training from Smt. T. R. Balamani in Mumbai. In 1995, on the advice of Padma Bhushan Prof. T. N. Krishnan, she became his disciple at a young age. She also studied Carnatic vocal music under Padma Bhushan Sri P. S. Narayanaswamy.

Her debut concert took place in 1998, performing alongside Prof. T. N. Krishnan. Since then, she has been active as both a violin soloist and accompanist, performing at major music festivals and institutions across India and internationally. Her overseas performances include appearances at the Woodford Folk Festival, Australia (2011), a collaboration with the Sacramento Philharmonic Orchestra, USA, an ICCR cultural delegation tour to Brazil, and a solo concert at The Bhavan, London (2016). She has also performed extensively in the USA, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Singapore.

Her musicianship is noted for clarity of tone, technical precision, and the ability to reproduce vocal nuances on the violin. In addition to performance, she is also involved in teaching violin and Carnatic vocal music.

Charumathi Raghuraman has received several awards and honors, including multiple Best Violinist awards from the Madras Music Academy (2001, 2002, 2004, 2006), Outstanding Young Violinist and Best Sub Senior Violinist awards, the Kalki Krishnamurthy Memorial Award (2016), the Ramabhadran Centenary Award (2013), and the Yuva Kala Ratna Award (2023). She has also been a recipient of the CCR&T (Government of India) scholarship from a young age.

She is an A-grade artist with All India Radio and Doordarshan. Academically, she holds a master’s degree in business administration from Xavier Institute. Her husband, Anantha Krishnan, is a mridangam artist and the grandson of the late Palghat Raghu.