Kollengode Viswanatha Narayanaswamy, Carnatic musician par excellence, will be awarded the title of Sangita Kalanidhi by the Madras Music Academy at the end of its 60th annual conference starting this month. This, in a sense, will be a mere formality since KVN, as the vidwan is popularly known, has long been recognized as such by discerning rasikas. In fact, by twisting a mere vowel, our own Anami recently referred to him as a "sangita kalanadhi'. Perhaps this description is just as apt, considering that KVN's art is like a life-giving river that flows quietly and considering, too, that music has been coursing through his family like a perennial stream