CHENNAI: When he started playing the violin, Lalgudi GJR Krishnan was too young to realise the legacy he was carrying in his name. Krishnan’s journey as a musician started with him following the footsteps of his guru, his father Lalgudi G Jayaraman. “At that point, I was just following and delivering what he taught me... like a child doing his homework,” he recalls.
As he prepares for the premiere of the dance production Sambhavami Yuge Yuge, for which he has composed music along with his sister Vijayalakshmi, Krishnan chats with CE about his music, guru and his first ever stage performance. Excerpts follow:
You trained under your father Lalgudi G Jayaraman. What was he like — as a father and a guru?
My father was trained by my grandfather, who was a very strict man. Naturally, dad was strict with us as well. I would rather address him as my guru, because I have often seen that side of him. There was music all around, all the time. I played along with him from 1973 to 2006. I also played for legends like Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, TN Seshagopalan, Maharajapuram Santhanam, etc — every performance with a musician has been a learning experience for me. And all this was possible because of my father’s training.
Your music has subtlety in it, but at the same time you add a lot of elements to make it sound different. Tell us about your improvisations while on stage?
There are moments when we forget ourselves while playing. You get so involved that you don’t make a conscious effort to impress, you explore and express yourselves. And each time you perform it is a unique experience. Music is made of so many nuances, and that is the beauty of it. Simply put, the position of the index finger will make the same note sound different. And it is necessary to know all that.
You have been curating a violin repair and restoration workshop for craftsmen and enthusiasts. What made you start it?
I noticed that there were lot of violinists who would wait for their foreign trips to get their instrument fixed. And that’s when I wanted to step in and do something. The workshop teaches musicians, craftsperson and enthusiasts to understand the science of the violin and its construct. This will help them know what kind of tools to use. You cannot use some tool that you use to fix your bike on your violin, right? I have been conducting the workshop for the last three years. This time unfortunately I can’t because the violin maker comes from Santa Barbara and because of the wild fire there, he had to evacuate with his violin and tools.
Can you tell us about stage debut in 1973?
I distinctly remember my grandfather was among the audience. My father, being the main performer, was on stage and I sat beside him...I had butterflies in my stomach, my fingers were sweating, but I managed to come out of it. Yagnaraman, the then secretary of Krishna Gana Sabha, felicitated the three generations — me, my father and grandfather. I remember I played Thodi ragam — which is known to be a very difficult ragam. Although it is commonly played now, back then it was unusual and that too especially for a debutant to play it.
You’ve played solo, duets, as a trio (with your father and sister), and with stalwarts. Which according to you was most challenging?
Each is a challenge in itself. You keep raising the benchmark and set your own goal. You get to watch the perception of another artiste and try to understand more as you progress further. I have played jugalbandis and have composed for dance productions as well. So it is all different in their own way.
You’ve collaborated jugalbandis within classical music itself — Hindustani and Carnatic. What did you learn from it?
In any concert, when three musicians are on stage, the meeting of the mind is essential for collaboration. You have to choose a common platform. I recall this quote by Yehudi Menuhin, violinist, who speaks of different genres of music and says ‘For times immemorial, men have been loving women for their differences and not for their similarity’. So each genre should try to retain their individuality. The way we sing each note gives out the characteristics of the particular genre — the same notes will be handled differently in Hindustani and in another way in Carnatic.
The dance production ‘Sambhavami Yuge Yuge’ will premiere on Dec 17 at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan from 5 pm onwards.
For details call: 28140806
