Lalgudi G Jayaraman, one of the greatest violinists of the carnatic music stage, passed away at a city hospital on Monday.
The ‘Lalgudi’ bani that he mastered brought out the best of the bhava in every composition. Behind this skill on bringing out the true bhava of the song was a deep knowledge of the carnatic genre. Jayaraman was not just a violinist but also a widely-appreciated composer. Expressing his deep grief to Express, T N Krishnan, who along with Jayaraman and M S Gopalakrishnan formed the trinity of carnatic violinists, said ‘Lalgudi’ was a “wholesome” violinist. “Our careers bloomed almost together. We had mutual respect for each other and always wanted to do better than the other person. But with Jayaraman there was only a sporting attitude,” he said. “He has been playing for 60 years. You can’t compensate a loss like that,” the veteran violinist added.
Jayaraman was also a gentle colossus, known for his humble character. Eminent vocalist Sudha Raghunathan recalls an incident: “My guru (M L Vasanthakumari) and I had performed at a concert at the Tamizh Isai Sangam, which we concluded with a rendition of Lalgudi’s Thillana in ragam Revathi. Lalgudi, who was seated in the audience, met us backstage after the concert and said listening to the rendition was refreshing. I was bowled over at his humility.” Jayaraman received the Padma Bhushan in 2001 and a national award for his score for movie Sringaram.
His greatness also lay in the fact that he was able to produce many an illustrious disciple. Bombay Jayashri, who recently got an Oscar nomination, is among several of his famous students. Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa also offered her condolences to Jayaraman’s family.