Music composer Rajan of Rajan-Nagendra fame dies at 87

News Network

October 12, 2020

Bengaluru, Oct 12: Acclaimed film music composer Rajan of ‘the Rajan-Nagendra musical duo’ fame passed away after a cardiac arrest at his residence in Bengaluru on Sunday night. He was 87. He was healthy but had developed gastric issues on Saturday and had a bloated stomach, according to his son Ananth Kumar.

“Doctor informed us that he is no more around 11 pm on Sunday,” he said. Rajan is the elder brother of Nagendra. The latter died of a stroke in November 2000. Rajan, along with his brother Nagendra, had created a niche for themselves for decades, and have given innumerable hits. The duo also hold a record for being the longest active musical pair in the industry.

Rajan studied at SLN School and later in Central High School where he took part in state-level violin competition and secured first place. Rajan and Nagendra became independent music directors with Swobhagya Lakshmi in 1952.

The duo together composed music for 400 films, during the late 1950 to early 1990s including over 200 songs in Kannada, and the rest in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Tulu and Sinhalese. Some of the best compositions are for films like ‘Nyayave Devaru’, ‘Gandhada Gudi’, ‘Devara Gudi’, ‘Bhagyavantaru’, ‘Eradu Kanasu’, ‘Naa Ninna Mareyalaare’, ‘Naa Ninna Bidalaare’, ‘Hombisilu’, ‘Bayalu Daari’, ‘Pavana Ganga’ and ‘Giri Kanye’ among others.

They worked with well-known lyricists like Uday Shankar, Hunasur Krishnamurthy, Vijaya Narasimha, Geetha Priya and singers like late Ghantasala, Vani Jayaram, P B Srinivas, Chitra, Kishore Kumar, S P Balasubrahmanyam, S Janaki, L R Eshwari, P Susheela, among others.

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Elusive bamboo shrimp resurfaces in Mangaluru estuary after 70 years

News Network

December 7,2025

Mangaluru, Dec 7: A rare bamboo shrimp has been rediscovered on mainland India more than 70 years after it was last reported, confirming for the first time the presence of Atyopsis spinipes in the country. The find was made by researchers from the Centre for Climate Change Studies at Sathyabama Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, during surveys in Karnataka and Odisha.

The team — shrimp expert Dr S Prakash, PhD scholar K Kunjulakshmi, and Mangaluru-based researcher Maclean Antony Santos — combined field surveys, ecological assessments and DNA analysis to identify the elusive species. Their findings, published in Zootaxa, resolve decades of taxonomic confusion stemming from a 1951 report that misidentified the species as Atyopsis moluccensis without strong evidence.

The shrimp has now been confirmed at two locations: the Mulki–Pavanje estuary near Mangaluru and the Kuakhai River in Bhubaneswar. Historical specimens from the Andaman Islands, previously labelled as A. moluccensis, were also found to be misidentified and actually belong to A. spinipes.

The rediscovery began after an aquarium hobbyist in Odisha spotted a shrimp in 2022, prompting systematic surveys across Udupi, Karwar and Mangaluru. Four female specimens were collected in Mulki and one in Odisha, all genetically matching.

Researchers warn the species may exist in very small, vulnerable populations as freshwater habitats face increasing pressure from pollution, sand mining and infrastructure development. All verified specimens have been deposited with the Zoological Survey of India for future reference.

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