It has been a smooth if long journey for maestro R.K. Srikantan, from Rudrapatnam, his native place in the Hassan district of Rarnataka, to Chennapatna, aka Madras, the mecca of Carnatic classical music, where he will preside over the annual conference of the Music Academy this year and, on New year's Day, receive the coveted title of Sangeeta Kalanidhi. He will be the first Sanketi and the fifth musician from Rarnataka to receive this honour. The title has earlier been received by Mysore Vasudevacharya (1935), Mysore T. Chowdiah (1957), Rallapalli Ananthakrishna Sarma (1974) and Mysore Doreswamy Iyengar (1984).