A special book titled ‘Nadayogi Dr Rajkumar,’ which focuses on the musical knowledge of veteran actor and singer Dr Rajkumar, was unveiled recently at an event held at the Artists’ Association.
The book has been written by R. Manjunath Chavan and Dr. Soumya Manjunath Chavan. Purnima Ramkumar, daughter of Dr Rajkumar, unveiled the book during the ceremony.
Among those present at the event were Dr. Latha, daughter of Dr Rajkumar’s brother Varadappa, producer Rockline Venkatesh, Manohar Naidu of Lahari, and Lahari Velu.
Gowda, the Tanzania East Africa representative of Kaveri Kannada Sangha Dhar S. Salaam, attended the event as a special guest. According to the organisers, this is the first time a book on Kannada icon Dr Rajkumar is reaching East Africa.
Speaking after unveiling the book, Purnima Ramkumar said music was very important to her father and that he was especially fond of ghazals. She stated that everyone in their family loved music and added that R. Manjunath and Dr. Soumya Manjunath, who were close to the family, had written the book to introduce Dr Rajkumar’s knowledge of music. She also expressed happiness over unveiling the book.
Author R. Manjunath Chavan said he first met Dr Rajkumar and Parvathamma Rajkumar during the making of the 1992 film Jeevana Chaitra and later shared a close association with them. He said Dr Rajkumar was a great music enthusiast with knowledge of various forms of music, while his brother Varadappa also had deep knowledge of music.
He further stated that apart from Carnatic music, Dr Rajkumar was also fond of Hindustani music and particularly liked ghazals. According to him, even at the age of 70, Dr Rajkumar remained eager to learn aspects of music he did not know from experts in the field.
R. Manjunath Chavan said that after closely observing these qualities, he and his wife Dr. Soumya decided to document Dr Rajkumar’s musical knowledge through the book ‘Nadayogi Dr Rajkumar,’ which has been written in both Kannada and English. He also expressed happiness that Purnima Ramkumar unveiled the book and thanked the dignitaries who attended the event.
He added that Dr Rajkumar’s debut film Bedara Kannappa was released on May 7, 1954, and coincidentally, the book ‘Nadayogi Dr Rajkumar’ was unveiled on May 7, 2026.
