Faculty — Sri Paduka Academy

Hari Devanath

Carnatic Vocal

Sri. Hari Devanath is one of the prime disciples of Sangeetha Ratnakara Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. He has been trained in the rich traditional paataantharam and continues to imbibe the highest standards of Carnatic performance and pedagogy from his Guru. Hari began teaching as a teenager, mentoring junior students under the guidance of his Guru, an experience that laid the foundation for his lifelong passion for teaching. In 2002, he founded Sri Paduka Academy of Classical Music, bringing the Neyveli bani to the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, he is one of the region's most sought-after Carnatic music teachers, known for his rigorous yet individualized approach that has nurtured generations of students.

Rupa Ramanathan

Carnatic Vocal

Rupa Ramanathan is a sishya of Smt. Kasthuri Shivakumar and Vidwan Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. She has been learning Carnatic music for over 14 years and has also benefited from working closely with Maestro Chitravina Ravikiran on Melharmonic projects. Rupa performed her Carnatic vocal arangetram in 2014 and has since presented numerous solo concerts across North America and India. In addition to vocal music, she is an accomplished western violinist, having served as the Concertmaster of the Plymouth Canton Symphony Orchestra and performed with the Detroit Symphony Civic Orchestra. She has received several accolades in prestigious music competitions and continues to actively perform and contribute to both Indian classical and western classical music. Rupa holds an undergraduate degree in Public Health and Bioengineering.

Sashwat Mahalingam

Carnatic Vocal

Sashwat Mahalingam is a sishya of Sri. Hari Devanath & Sri. Vivek Sundararaman under Sri Paduka Academy. He was initiated into Carnatic Music by Smt. Hema Sista. Sashwat has also immensely benefited from workshops and advanced lessons under his Parama Guru Sri. Neyveli Santhanagopalan. He has participated in Cleveland Aradhana, Papanasam Sivan, OSAAT and Saptami and won prizes, including Cleveland Advanced Pallavi in 2018. Sashwat performed his arangetram in fall of 2018, with blessings of his Paramaguru as chief guest and Cleveland Sri. V.V. Sundaram as guest of honor. He is currently a software engineer in the Bay Area and a teacher at Paduka.

Varsha

Carnatic Vocal

Placeholder bio for Varsha. A talented musician and dedicated teacher bringing passion and expertise to our Carnatic music program.