Music is the soul of life, of divinity, of an eternal bond between the Guru and his disciple.

N.R.Rama Rao met Pandit Ravi Shankar for the first time in 1948 after attending his concert held in Town Hall, Bengaluru.  And 1951 was the year when music beckoned and N.R.Rama Rao left home with the blessings of his mother and elder brother N.R.Krishna Murthy. He travelled to Delhi and surrendered his mind and heart to learning under the guidance of sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar and dedicated himself to a lifetime commitment of living for his music and his Guru. He was one of the earliest and closest disciples of Pandit Ravi Shankar and their ‘close bonding as guru and shishya is still spoken about in music circles as Ram bhakt Hanuman, Ravi bhakt Rao.’

The ’beautiful relationship’ he shared continued until Rama Rao’s demise due to Alzheimer’s in 2004. But even during the advanced stage, he never failed to recognise his Guru and responded whenever he heard his music.