Lalgudi G Jayaraman

If the word Lalgudi today is synonymously identified with music and the violin, the entire credit there to goes to the Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. Born in the year 1930, September 17 th , Shri Jayaraman enters his eighth decade of his illustrious existence. It is the lives of legends like Lalgudi Jayaraman that gives a perspective to the popular adage, ““The lives of great men remind us now to make our lives sublime” Born in the sishya parampara of the great Saint Thyagaraja, Shri Jayaraman, was brought up in an atmosphere of music by his versatile father Late Sri Gopala Iyer under whom he mastered the nuances of Carnatic music. It is no exaggeration that the firmament of South Indian Music has been considerably enriched by Lalgudi Jayaraman in more ways that one, for he is an artist whose amazing vision has stirred the “Sagara” of Carnatic Music thereby introducing a wider meaningful, dimension that have come to stay . In a career spanning over 6 decades Shri Jayaraman has engraved his name firmly in the spheres of performing, composing, teaching, conducting and organizing and through his innovation and genius elevating the Carnatic violin to new territories. It is a matter of pride and privilege for us to present the various dimensions of this great man and his accomplishments and contributions to the world of music. The Artiste Shri Jayarman’s flawless command over the violin, an ingenious and fascinating style, his mastery over all aspects of music made him an artiste par excellence very early in his career. As a violinist he began as an accompanist for many of the then leading artistes, and with his own genius established firmly the concept of “Violin Solo “. The later years saw him along with his children and disciples Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi take the violin concert to a different paradigm thru their well coordinated , synchronized , masterly delivered “Violin Trio “ and “ Duets” His total dedication to music, his razor sharp mind and most important an iron resolve to excel and emerge beyond par, and his ceaseless perseverance through out the long years, has aided his meteoric climb to immortality in the world of Indian and Carnatic Music. Solo The ascendancy of the violin from the shadow of being a mere accompanying instrument can be attributed to many vidwans Tirukkodikaval Krishna Iyer, Malaikkottai Govindasami Pillai, Dwaram Venkataswamy Naidu, and Mysore T Chowdiah. This was given a new dimension and catapulted forwarded by Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman with his unlimited freedom to give expression to his illimitable imagination. Shri Jayaraman has performed over thousands of solo concerts around the world and has extensively established an ever lasting presence for the violin in its Solo form, besides the immortalizing his unique style, that has come to stay as the Lalgudi Bani. . The singing violin, as it can be termed, could reproduce the renditions with an embedded bhava and pathos, bringing to life the verses. As expressed in his own words a complete state of bliss while delivering the music, and a state of oblivion when immersed in the art, have had the singular impact of alleviating his performances to a divine experience. The greatness of Lalgudi’s music is underlined by his imaginative raga delineations, involved rendition of the kritis laced with the emotions underpinning the lyrics and his supreme control over Laya. Violin Trio Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman has offered to the world of Carnatic music the Lalgudi Bani, inimitable compositions, and thousands of heart rendering performances which will rule the music world in the generations to come. But the grooming and upbringing of his children and inducting and dedicating them to this great art, is one of the most commendable contributions which allows the rasikas of today and the next few decades to immerse and relish the continuation of this everlasting Bani . He along with Lalgudi Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi have played in numerous Trio concerts around the world and some of the performances such as the one in the India international festival at USSR is of great pride to the India and South Indian music . Though age and health has had an impact on his performing and playing the violin , he has successfully arranged for the continuity and transmission of the excellence he created through his children and disciples Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi Duets Shri Jayaraman began presenting violin duets with his gifted and talented sister Lalgudi Shrimathi Brahmanandam, and subsequently with his son Lalgudi Krishnan and daughter Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi has presented concerts with them. The almost mystical coordination, supreme virtuosity over the instrument, and the establishment of a unique pattern of rendering a concert has made the violin duets very popular and sought after. Accompanist If the emergence of the violin as the pre eminent accompanying instrument preceded, Shri Jayaraman, his arrival on the scene, elevated it to a completely different paradigm. This surely is validated when time and again it has been said that no vocalist can sing any melody that cannot be mimicked and enhanced by the ingenious of Sri Jayaraman. Quite early in his career, even as a young man, he had the innate ability to appreciate the nuances in the art of great masters and merge them with his own distinct artistic skills. His inborn creativity, sharp reflexes combined with an immaculate ability to absorb and retain the styles of the artistes he accompanies , and his daring to non challantly pick up the gauntlet thrown at him , by the main performer in a concert , irrespective of the seniority or reputation they came with , were all ingredients to his carving his niche as an exemplary accompanist and the legend he has come to be It is not therefore surprising that he was a very sought after accompanist and has been associated with many of the all time greats , the likes of Mudicondan Venkatraman Iyer , Musiri Ariyakudi Semmangudi, Madurai Mani Iyer, GN Balasubramaniam, Alathoor Brothers, and many others. He has left an indelible stamp as an accompanist with brilliant artistic acumen, shrewd anticipation of the musical thoughts of the center stage performer, yet reigning in the temptation to overshadow them and thereby created a new code of concert ethic for accompanists. His supportive and innovative style of accompaniment inspired many a vocalists to further their efforts thereby bringing to the audiences a superior experience. The master of Laya that Lalgudi is, all the permutations and combinations, intrinsic swara patterns and solfa finales of the singer, would without the bat of an eyelid find immaculate, impeccable answering statements on the violin. Meeting the laya challenges of a Simhanandana Pallavi, the superb pallavi effort of Alathoor Brothers and always confident of holding his own in what could be termed as friendly contests with the percussion department as spearheaded by veterans of the likes of Palghat Mani Iyer and Palani Subrmania Pillai become almost routine thereby creating many an enthralling moments for the audiences. Innovation and Experimentation Drenched in authenticity , and strictly in adherence to the boundaries of Carnatic music , in his role as violin soloist or accompanist , did not deter or in any way or come in the way of Shri Lalgudi experimenting with innovative concepts such as Jugal Bandhi and Fusion performances with North Indian and International musicians . He also conceived and created the unique ensemble of the Violin – Veena - Venu trio concert and delivered with the then greats such as N Ramani and took this on well acclaimed tour around the world. This innovative combination has had continued following , and the tradition maintained by Lalgudi Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi One of the most noteworthy contributions by Shri Jayaraman is the introduction and popularization of the violin and South Indian Carnatic Music to the Western world. Noteworthy of his international forays are his performances in the India International Festival at Russia, Festival of India in USA and London. Sri Lalgudi was presented the Italian violin of Ehud Menuhin, the renowned violinist at the Edinburgh Musical Festival in 1965 after being amazed by Sri Lalgudi talent. Jayaraman has also performed in numerous places like Singapore, Malaysia, Manila and various East European countries. Sri Lalgudi has submitted his music to the International Music Council, Baghdad, Asian Pacific Music Rostrum and Iraq Broadcasting Agency by Air New Delhi and has gained the fist position out of 77 entries received from various countries during 1979. He has given solo and ‘Jugalbandi’ (mixed music style) concerts in London, Germany and Italy all of which received praiseworthy reviews. ‘Jaya Jaya Devi’ a dance ballet composed by Lalgudi, was premiered in 1994 at Cleveland, USA and was presented in other US cities as well. The Composer Besides the Soloist and accompanist a third and a very important dimension of Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman is the one as a Composer. It wouldn’t be inappropriate, that in this dimension, he was blessed and is a near incarnation of Goddess Saraswathi herself. Since his composition at an young age of 26 when he first composed the Thillana, the imagination has continued to flow from this spring right through the years, and has witnessed masterly compositions of many thillanas, Varnams and Kritis. In the words of George Moore, an artiste is either before his time or behind it - Lalgudi most certainly belongs to the first category. Some of his compositions composed nearly 40 years ago bear ample testament to his rare musical sagacity in the sense that they have captured the imagination of both performers and the public and have grown increasingly popular with the passage of time He has also composed the lyrics and music for a dance ballet Jaya Jaya Devi ,and is also known to compose dance dramas one of which was ‘Panchaswaram’ which was a roaring success . Yet another extension of his composition abilities witnessed his scoring the music to the film Sringaram, which won him further accolades as the Best Music Director for that effort His musical genius has been revered by contemporary and current artistes both musicians and classical dancers who are thrilled to perform his compositions or to his music/ compositions The Guru The Lalgudi Bani reverberates today around the world. While this legacy continues the journey in a noble and astounding manner, thorough his children, it is thanks to the Guru in Shri Jayaraman, that this art and Bani is available to many budding artists of today around the world. There are many a great vidwans who have presented their excellence and compositions to the world a large; however, there are very few musicians who have imparted their art to the next generations. It will not be out of place to say that the true divinity of music grows as you impart and share it with others and pave way for its survival over several generations. Shri Lalgudi's contribution of creating the next generation musicians commencing with his son and daughter has , benefitted many a student and more importantly all music lovers by continuously producing many a musician and stalwarts of today . It is indeed rare to come across an artiste of his stature take so much pride in the achievements of their shishyas His role as a guru is marked with sincerity of purpose as he cajoles, coaxes, encourages and whenever necessary enforces strict discipline on each of his disciples to get the best out of them. His magnanimity in sharing his exhaustive knowledge with other musicians is a wonderful human quality. It is not an overstatement that merely watching him is an inspiration for many youngsters to pursue learning in violin and Carnatic music. His committed professionalism is such that although his brilliant career has spanned generations, yet his mindset maintains contemporary relevance. To sum up, geniuses like Lalgudi Jayaraman are born once in a millennium and they revolutionalise and set new trends .