MY GURU

Lalgudi Rajalakshmi

Lalgudi Rajalakshrni, the third of the Lalgudi siblings,is a respected violinist in the Carnatic music circlesof Bengaluru. "Lalgudi Mami", as she is fondlycalled, is an endearing personality, but an uncompromisingteacher. I am fortunate to have been her disciple for thelast seven years.

Mami who belongs to the formidable Lalgudi lineage,is the epitome of discipline and perfection. She learnedto play the violin from her father Lalgudi Gopala Iyerand her brother Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, and startedperforming at the age of ten. She settled in Bangalore afterher marriage in 1957 to Radhakrishnan; her late husbandwho was employed in the Indian air force. Over the years,Mami performed extensively as a soloist and accompanist.She has accompanied several artists across generations likeM.L. Vasanthakumari, O.K. Pattammal, Bombay Sisters,Sudha Ragunathan, Aruna Sairam, Neyveli Santhanagopalan,Mandolin Shrinivas, and her own daughter JayanthiKumaresh, and grandson Abhishek Raghuram. She hasalso performed duets with her brother Jayaraman andsisters Srimathi Brahmanandam (violin) and PadmavathyAnanthagopalan (veena). During her long stint at AllIndia Radio she brought out many musical productions,including women's and children's orchestras. Outside ofIndia, my guru has performed and taught in Singapore,Malaysia, Japan, and the U.S.A. She has received manyawards - 'Swara Bhushani' presented by Gayana Samaja,Bangalore, being the most recent.

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Sindhuja Bhaktavatsalam

My association with Mami has been humbling andenlightening. Though she is a strict disciplinarianwhile taking classes, she is ever so positive andencouraging. Mami teaches vocal music, veena,the violin and flute. Classes go on simultaneouslyin different rooms in her Bengaluru apartment, andwatching her multitask with ease, giving everystudent her all, is an experience in itself. Mamiis willing to sit with a student assiduously forhours, until every little gamaka is nailed down.Her imageries in manodharma singing add morecolour to the classes. "Think of singing a ragaas if you were adorning a goddess", she wouldsay, emphasising the aesthetic as much as thetechnical. True to the Lalgudi tradition, Mami's'kanakku' and 'poruttam' in kalpana swaramwithout sacrificing bhava, can be rivetting.Her lessons in niraval singing involve a judiciousmix of importance to sahitya, bhava, and laya.

My favorite sessions are when Mami teacheswith her violin. She plays on the violin tocommunicate certain phrases and intricacies,especially in rakti ragas like Dhanyasi andBegada, and asks us to vocalise them. At times Igot so carried away that I forgot to repeat after her.

The way shevarnam Dera=.-'"particularlynishada, ialso compossome forVadiraja COffiOOSlUiOO Sariaenorare raga \1and reftecFor examp e.Lord in the aaupallavi'Anaathan

Lalgudi Rajalakshmi with Padmavathy Ananthagopalan (veena)

neenu, In the first part 'anaathanuaanu which speaks of his plight,

. {ami has used the lower madhyaand mandara sthayi notes, whereas'enagebandhuvu neenu', reflectingthe exalted state of the poet, takes thetara thayi notes. There are severalill h instances in Mami's music.

heartily on food and music. Apartfrom the delectable meals and thelong, absorbing lessons andconversations on music, she wouldmake me listen to a variety ofrecordings of stalwarts rangingfrom Alathur Brothers andGNB to S. Kalyanaraman andT.N. Seshagopalan, and of course,Lalgudi Jayaraman. "There issomething to take from everyone,"she would say.

With LalgudiJayaraman and G.J.R. Krishnan

I have many memories to treasureof my stay with Mami. She was

erogecanaauvu particular that I should be fed

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innovative projects like the IndianNational Orchestra, and also managesthe recording label Home Records.

Although Mami has faced many apersonal setback including the tragicloss of her husband and daughter,her unbridled enthusiasm to learn isinspiring. "I want to learn at least onenew song before every concert," shetold me not very long ago. And that isthe kind of spirit she kindles in herstudents. Although she has settledin Coimbatore for the last couple ofyears, Mami keeps travelling toBengaluru and Chennai for concertsand classes. Her unflinching energyand passion for her art, and for life in

With Srimathi Brahmanandam (L)

Outside class, Mami is a fun person to be with - she has even indulgedme with movies and games! On one occasion, Mami, her motherand I watched the Tamil comedy Michael Madana Kamarajanand laughed ourselves silly. Mami is among the very tech-savvypersons of her generation. She regularly teaches on Skype, is promptwith emails, and scans hand-written lessons with her iPad and sendsthem electronically to her students. She has a website too -lalgudirajalakshmi.com.

Mami's daughters Usha and Jayanthi blossomed into excellentmusicians. The late Usha played the violin with her mother, andJayanthi took to the veena and trained with her aunt PadmavathyAnanthagopalan. Usha not only sang and played the violin, but wasalso a poet and composer. She married Ramkumar Raghu, son ofmridanga vidwan Palghat Raghu. The musical genes are obvious intheir son Abhishek Raghuram, a prodigious vocalist today. JayanthiKumaresh is a renowned veena exponent, composer and teacher, heads

Receiving the Swarabhushani awardat Gayana Samaja, BangaloreWith Jayanthi Kumaresh

general are quite amazing. "The bestway to not get bogged down in lifeis to keep yourself busy everymoment," is her advice.

Mami is a very affectionate guru andtreats us students as her own children.She takes unabashed pride in ourachievements and is a constant sourceof motivation.

(The author is a research scholar andmusician)

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