LALGUDI MAMA
The phone rang sharply at 6.35pm on
Monday the 22nd April 2013 evening and I heard a voice at
the other end say, “Jayanthi, it is all over. Lalgudi ji is no
more”. A shiver of shock and sorrow stuck in my throat and tears
welled up in my eyes as I walked up to the music system and switched
on Raga Sahana played by him a couple of decades ago. Every note
stood in line literally begging him to caress it and give it life.
Was he a musician or a magician? I wondered every single time how he
touched the core of the heart with a single note or phrase.
The entire universe had converted
itself to a Nadaloka for him and he was the Master creator, creating
music in different forms to suit each occasion. He was an ace
performer, composer, guru, creator and much much more.
His playing has the silken finish which
only God could achieve. His expression was that of a poet and there
was not even one ungraceful note or movement in the entire piece of
music he rendered. Completely within the grammar of the classical
idiom, he wove many permutations and combinations which only a genius
can do and moved his audience to the hilt. He brought a great status
to the Violin as an accompaniment to Vocal during the years that he
accompanied great stalwarts
He was a musician who changed the
entire approach to music during his life time. Aesthetics was his
forte. Be it an alap or a krithi or swaraprasthara or a varnam or a
thillana, the inimitable Lalgudi stamp was there. The Lalgudi stamp
means, music that is grammatically impeccable, melodically
unsurpassable, mathematically supreme and tonally pristine.. No, i am
not in search of adjectives. Because adjectives fall a great deal
short of their duty when trying to describe a legend like Lalgudi
Jayaraman ji. There is not even one single musician who is not
influenced by his music. There is so much to take in from his music.
His padantharam of krithis is very unique. He gave a new dimension to
the krithis of Saint Thyagaraja so much so that every time, I used to
imagine that Saint Thyagaraja was nodding from up there in great
appreciation to what Lalgudi ji had done with his compositions. So
much has been written about and spoken about this great legend and
every time when one writes about him we only end up feeling that not
enough has been said.
Every single musician today is his
disciple or follower in some way or the other. I have been extremely
fortunate to have been born in his family as his sister's daughter. I
have watched him from my childhood and have been extremely fortunate
to have learnt so much from him directly. He was a true romantic at
heart and knew to enjoy every single nuance of Mother Nature, be it
the blooming of a flower or a sway of the branches caused by the
winds. He lived in a world that was so sensitive and subtle. His
spirituality came out in the silence between the two notes he played.
He tapasya shone out in the siddhi he achieved in every single note.
Yes, he was a Nada Yogi....
I come back to reality. Who said
Lalgudi ji is no more? What has happened is only a space between two
notes. His physical presence is not here..that's all. His music will
go on and will continue to echo in the cosmic world creating
vibrations that are so positive and so moving touching all our hearts
for years and years to come.
Salutations to the God of Music!!
