As a lay rasika of Carnatic music, I have always been overawed by Lalgudi Jayaraman’s music. Words cannot describe the ecstasy I have experienced. In his lecture demonstration sessions, he would speak of the phenomenal freedom Carnatic music provided for exploration while, at the same time, it had rigid boundaries that needed to be respected.
True to his word, Lalgudi shifted his horizon of imagination all the time while ensuring that he never crossed the “Lakshman Rekha” of tradition. Only a few like him could move a listener to tears.
Valoothoor Venkatesh,
Bangalore
Rasikas across the world are saddened by the passing of Lalgudi Jayaraman. I remember his interview which appeared in The Hindu Friday Review in 1977. In all humility, he remembered R. Srinivasa Iyer, his teacher in Ramakrishna High School, who brought him to Chennai to play in the Shiva Vishnu Temple. I mention this as my humble tribute to the legend.
R.K. Moorti,
Chennai
