T.R. Dhandapany is well known for his innovative approach and his talavadya performances. He has trained students in the various south Indian percussion instruments, like mridangam, ghatam, kanjira, morsing, phakawaj, dholak. He has over five decades of experience in the percussion field. He has over three decades of teaching experience. He has toured all over the world featuring in performances. He took his initial training in the art of mridangam from Sikkal A.S. Natesa Iyer. Later, he specialized under the tutelage of Late Shri. Harihara Sharma, Principal of Jaya Ganesh Talavadya Vidyalaya of Chennai and the late Shri. K.M.Vaidyanathan. He has been performing for the last four decades and has accompanied many top-ranking musicians. As percussion instruments were always used as accompaniments, He took the initiatives and started full-time talavadya programs to bring percussionists to the centre stage. Getting an excellent response, he created ‘Laya Gana Madhura Lahiri’ in 1982. Since then he has given more than 250 performances at cultural events organized by many esteemed organizations like Sanskriti, Government of India, Rotary Club of India and I.C.C.R, Rashtrapati Bhawan. He also participated in First South Asian Festival held in Dhaka in the year 1997. He also gave performances at various places in Nepal during the year 2006 and was featured at the 5th Annual Kathmandu Jazz Festival in Kathmandu.