Sudha Raghunathan is one of the most sought-after Carnatic singers today. She is a vocalist and composer and is very popular amongst the rasikas all over the world. She is the direct disciple of Dr.M.L. Vasanthakumari. She has been conferred with the Kalaimamani Award by the Govt of Tamilnadu in 1994, the Padma Shri in 2004 and the Padma Bhushan in 2015 by the Govt of India. Now recently she has been awarded the S.Rajam award for Excellence by Dr. Prameela Gurumurthy, Vice Chancellor, Tamilnadu Music & Fine Arts University. S.Rajam was a distinguished Carnatic musician and painter. He was the direct disciple of Papanasam Sivan and the elder brother of the Tamil film director and musician K.Balachander. He was a member of the Music Academy of Madras and is known for his many compositions. 

Sudha Raghunathan on getting this award has said, “Music has taken me step by step towards excellence and I value and learn from each rung in the ladder that takes me to the top.”