Artist Information Trivandrum R. Vaidyanathan had his initial training on the mridangam under prof. Mavelikara Velukutty Nair and subsequently from Sri. Palghat Raghu. He won the Best Junior Artist award from the Music Academy in Madras at the age of twenty-four. Vaidyanathan has accompanied several musicians of repute. He is an A grade mridangam staff artist of AIR in Thiruvananthapuram.