The siblings continue to uphold the legacy of their grandfather Gopala Iyer and father Lalgudi Jayaraman. In recognition of this effort, The Music Academy and the Indira Sivasailam Foundation presented Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi with the Indira Sivasailam Endowment Medal recently.
Playing together for three decades is no mean task. Mallika Srinivasan, chairman, Indira Sivasailam Foundation, and CEO, TAFE, who presented the award said that it was a tribute to the artistes for passionately nurturing the beauty of this music and protecting it for posterity.
While Krishnan spoke about how the Foundation practises the very values it chooses to honour, Vijaylakshmi thanked her brother for constantly raising the bar.
Marked by perfection
The siblings’ concert after the award ceremony was marked by gana kacchitam . Not one unwanted phrase or sangati did one perceive. Each piece, be it a varnam or tukkada, was given its due. The Abogi alapana was perfect, showcasing the essence of Lalgudi bani. Their father had mastered every nuance of the raga that Vijayalakshmi conveyed through her renditon. Equally proficient, GJR Krishnan spearheaded a richly alluring Bahudari and a neatly packaged Kalyani. The concert was a pleasure for the audience as almost every piece was a listener’s request.
Starting off briskly with a Lalgudi-composed Charukesi varnam, GJR and Viji layered ‘Brovabarama’ (Bahudari) , and ‘Sabapathikku’ (Abogi) with a little kanakku in the swaraprasthara.
Next came ‘Sarasadala Nayane’ (Saramati), and ‘Kamalambam Bhajare’ (Kalyani) with niraval on ‘Nithyakalyani.’ A string of tukkadas delighted the audience —‘Adadadu Asangadu’, ‘Chinnanchirukiliye,’ ‘Krishna nee,’ ‘Theerada vilayattu pillai,’ and a tillana in Suddha Sarang. Accompanists Harikumar on the mridangam and Suresh on the ghatam brought off a nice tani.
