For the Chennai music season 2019, The Hindu brings to you the 'trendsetters' seriies from our archives - interviews with rising musiciians from the 1990s who are some of the biggest known names in Carnatic music today. here is an interview with Lalgudi G.J.R. Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, children of the illustrious Lalgudi Jayaraman.
Of the Sri Thyagaraja Parampara. The Lalgudi line has been most productive. Communicating from the Lalgudi Rama Iyer. At present the younger generation consists of G.J.R.Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi, the son and the daughter of Lalgudi Jayaraman.
At the entrance to the hall of Lalgudi Jayaraman’s house a picture of the proud Rama Iyer who initiated the portal violin genealogy. The whole house breathes the fragrance of Carnatic music distilled from the Sri Thyagaraja legacy. The Thyagaraja patantara is the same as in the days of Lalgudi Rama Iyer.
With the violin in their hands, G.J.R.Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi are seated on the floor with Lalgudi Rama Iyer looking down on them from his framed eminence. They play a few snatches of a raga to proclaim that they have not come under any other influence than Lalgudi Gopala Iyer, their grandfather and Lalgudi Jayaraman. As they play they show awareness that their heritage is rich and subconsciously feel their responsibility to preserve the purity of Lalgudi style."
Our grandfather and father are are only gurus”, said Krishnan and Vijayalakshmi qualified the statement saying, "being six years younger to her brother, she had not had that much guidance from her grandfather.”
I began learning at the age of five, first vocal music from my grandfather and a year later violin. Today my sisters and I first learn the kirtanas vocally before transferring then to the violin," said Krishnan.
"But since training descends from father to son, you could have left no difficulty in coming under your father's guidance after your grandfather's death."
"Basically not much difference. But my father introduced us to some special techniques like cut bowing, Full bowing and fingering methods.”
“How is it something different?"
“Our violin playing is mainly based on the Gayaki style, to resemble vocal music. This relates to the proper use “Vallinam" and “mellinam” (thick and thin in sound production) and to reproduce the sahityam of the songs as a vocalist would sing. Proper emphasis has to be placed to bring forth the mood of the composer. The bowing technique for the chowka (slow) Kalam is different from the durita (fast) tempo. How the cut bow technique is to be used while playing swaras — these are some of the redeeming characteristics of our school.”
“What is the nature of training to achieve these objectives?”
“Training daily revolves round sadhaka varisais, not the usual alankara, janta or Charu varisais. It is guarding fingering felicity. Then there is a method to link all the three octaves. Particular emphasis is placed on tara sthayi playing. The practice started in the early years adhered to even today.”
All the time his sister Vijayalakshmi was nodding approvingly to what Krishnan was expounding to convey she has also been going through this rigour.
“What was the rate of your progress from the day you started learning from your grandfather.”
“I started when I was about to five and by the time I was ten years old I learnt nearly 200 Kirtanas and to play in the way ragam and swarams. The rate of progress picked up when my father took over.”
“On what lines were you groomed for Raga Viniyasa?”
“I must take the Jiva Swara in a raga and weave around it as many phrases as possible without sacrificing the Swaroopa of the raga. Thus step by step raga structure is built around moorchanas. When distinguishing Sanchra is touched even at the first stroke the radiance of the raga becomes explicit. For kambhoji it is “pa, ma, ga, pa, da, sa” in the middle octave. For Sankarabharanam it is “ga, ma, da, pa, ma, ga, ri, sa, ni, da, ni, sa” from the middle to the lower octaves. In the way each raga’s identify has to be fixed in the mind and vinyasas have to be built on that edifice. If this method is followed at no level in alapana, the image of the raga will be blurred. This is the one aspect of my father has always dined into our ears".
“Besides what your father has conveyed to you, how else have you exerted you yourself to go deeper into the core of Carnatic music?”
“fortunately in our house we have a number of tapes of Ariyakudi , semmangudi, Madurai Mani Iyer, Alattur and others. Send my sister and I hear them and try to analyse what had contributed to their greatness. If I hear any beautiful passage, I take the violin then and there and try to reproduce what I have heard from the tape. Constantly hearing the old vidwans kindles the mind to think of the features of good music. Again from my tenth year my grandfather and my father would take me to cutcheris and as the Vidwan expounded, they would point out the excellences and where they play and how they brought them out. That has been the greatest benefit to me."
“In short kelvin gnanam”
“kelvin gnanam supported by experienced guidance”
Remaining approvingly silent as Krishnan was explaining on behalf of the board, Vijayalakshmi added” self-criticism been the bedrock of our improvement. Where Have we gone wrong , how could it have been present it better, why had it been unimpressive-we ask ourselves such questions after every performance of ours.”
“Is the extent of your repertoire?”
“I know about 1000 kirtanas she knows 800. Appa will sing and we will repeat, write it down in notation to serve later if our memory fails, then give the song a firm footing on the violin. This is the procedure for learning a new song”.
“Why is it you don't prefer the role of an accompanist unlike your sister?”
I feel that solo play gives greater scope for development. My first chance as accompanist was arranged by Krishna Gana Sabha when I was teamed with Semmanguddi come. My first violin or arangetram was with my father on September 9, 1973. Then playing tributes to three generations, the Sabha secretary Yagnaraman garlanded my grandfather, father and me. Krishna Gana Sabha in my school Padma Seshadri have given me the maximum encouragement. The school conferred the little “Yuva Kala Bharati”. Karthik fine arts awarded me the “Isai Peroli” title.
