The workshop on Carnatic and Hindustani classical musical traditions sponsored by the Meru Foundation and conducted by Maestro Sri. Lalgudi Jayaraman and party was an eye opener in the opinion of many that attended the event. The lecture notes, it was announced, were prepared by the Maestro himself but delivered by Smt. Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi and Sri. G.R. Krishnan. Music lovers of all persuasions from the Greater Boston area filled the auditorium at the Harvard University’s Sackler Gallery. It was noteworthy that a good number of children and youth were in attendance as well. The fact that the lecture-demonstration addressed the various aspects of the similarities, deviations as well as the unique features of both traditions in the parlance and idioms of Western music must have come as useful information, especially, to the youth in the audience. The enlightening presentation had interesting samples rendered both by way of performances by all three experts and by way of previously recorded expert examples from both traditions.

While the Lalgudi trio and the Percussionists ( Mrithangam and Ghatam players) gave an unforgettable short performance, the feeling permeated that the weightiness of the subject areas called for a much longer and greater in-depth expose. But all were thankful that the musicians had undertaken the long journey in these perilous times motivated only by their generosity and kindness toward those of us so far from our spiritual home. The workshop provided some opportunity for audience-artists interaction though somewhat constrained by time. To me personally it was amazing that the presentation was well coordinated despite the fact that the artists took turns to explain the terminology, demonstrate the selected pieces and highlight the rationale behind the choice of a particular piece.

I was asked if Lalgudi was the same place as the ‘Malgudi’ in R.K.Narayan's Malgudi Days. R.K. Narayan himself had been rather elusive about the whereabouts of Malgudi. But in a recent biography of R. K. Narayan by Susan Ram and N.Ram, the authors quote M.N. Srinivas, the renowned sociologist from Mysore, as saying that Malgudi might very well be Lalgudi with the letter ‘M’ standing for Mysore where Narayan lived.

And, what kind of place was Lalgudi? Granted that the little town is not Madurai, Srirangam, Mylapore or Thiruvanmayur which are illustrious examples of ancient Tamil town planning often found in architectural text books (disregard their decrepit conditions of today!), Lalgudi boasted of many features which rivaled the fabled towns. A large tributary of the river Kaveri winds through the town with the river Kaveri itself gracing the area just five miles from Lalgudi at a place called Kallanai, the ancient site of a masonry dam built around the First Century by Karikal Chola. The Kaveri delta begins literally at that place making Thiruchirapalli and Thanjavur districts as the well known repository of wealth of all kinds- agricultural, architectural, fine arts and classics in Tamil, Sanskrit, Telugu, Marathi and other languages. Sri. Jayaraman, the uncontested crest jewel of Lalgudi traces his musical heritage to his ancestor, a direct disciple Sri. Thyagaraja of Tiruvaiar, another Kaveri Delta town. Many masters of musical and dance arts have called Lalgudi their home. The town produced many illustrious authors, scientists, scholars and poets and even a large number of distinguished bureaucrats – some consider a great downside to an otherwise paradise! What was unusual was the number of clubs catering to every cultural, literary, philosophical and spiritual aspirations of the citizens – the literary and dramatic club, debating club, poetry forums, chess club, tennis club and even a Shakespeare club just to name a few.

A fellow Lalgudian wrote to me describing the place as a quaint town with a mighty Shiva Temple whose bells echoed through the tall towers. Roses, aromatic greens, jasmines, parijathas and other flowers at the temple alters and around town filled the place with fragrance that can only be experienced. The number of large lotus ponds, lily tanks and temple and village gardens astounded the visitors to the town. Every kind of tree was to be found - coconut palms, sprawling banyan, pippal, neem, mango, tamarind and silk cotton among numerous species. At times, one witnessed the frighteningly beautiful sights of the black cobras and water snakes gliding the currents in the river. The lush green rice fields, plantain and sugarcane pastures were sights to behold. Around the lotus ponds with innumerable blossoms in constant bloom swaying in the wind and the white cranes flying against dark clouds were true transcendent visions. Then, there were those cows, bison, monkeys, squirrels, doves, minas, parrots, peacocks, sparrows, Kuyil and other singing birds creating a cacophony of raucous festivities everywhere. Of course, one could never forget the temple elephants, the deer and bats. The legend of the five-headed cobra(s) inside the sanctum drove terror the hearts of every child in the town. There you have the picture. Smt. Vijayalakshmi told me that her father feels very nostalgic thinking about Lalgudi and you know now why.

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