Strangely but truly, the Music Academy of Madras insists that musicians wishing to perform in its annual festival, except those who would be given chances in prime-time evening slots, should submit formal applications. Should the Academy — or for that matter, the Tamil Isai Sangam, or the Indian Fine Arts Society or other comparable organisations in Bangalore or Bombay which conduct annual conferences and festivals — require that applications should similarly be filed by those who wish to have the honour of presiding over the annual conference and receiving the birudu that goes with the prestigious post, perhaps no self-respecting musician would comply. But if friends and .. admirers of Turaiyur Rajagopala Sarma, a multifaceted musical personality who would be completing eighty years of age this coming November, were to compile his qualifications for such an honour, a tight summary would run somewhat like this.