I was playing the veena with lot of pulling and embellishments thinking I was creating perfect gamakas. All of a sudden he asked me," What gives taste to food?" I looked at him not understanding the connection between food and what he was teaching me. He asked again, "What gives taste to food?" I still sat there just looking at him. He said, "Salt." I said, "Yes." He then asked me, "Since salt gives taste to food, would it be tastier if add more salt?" I said, "I don't think so." He said, "Well, gamakas are exactly like that....they give beauty and life to music, but doing too much of it will destroy that." I have never heard a simpler way of explaining a very important fact about music and it has stayed with me ever since. 

Everything he did, he did with total perfection and care. I met him in a time when I was becoming a little stagnant with my music and a bit out of focus. Meeting him re ignited my passion for music and also wanting me to do everything as perfectly as I can. I have many anecdotes about my interaction with him and it will not be possible for me to put everything on a piece of paper. But I would like to share one of them here that will show his humility. In year 2002 when his son Sri G.J. R. Krishnan was staying with me I pointed out to him how the kanakku (karvais or length of the notes) in the first chittai swaram of his varnam in the raga Varamu is the same as his varnam in the raga Amridhavarshini and asked why. Sri Krishnan passed that question along to his father. Sir answered that he composed one varnam some 30 years ago and the other one just a couple of years back and perhaps forgot about the numbers. We left it at that. But the next day my phone rang and it was Sir calling to tell his son to change the combination of the karvais in Varamu to a different one. When the notation book in English was published a year later, it had the new version.  Instead of taking the attitude 'oh, who is she and what does she know or how dare she questions my composition', he changed it and it could only come from a person who has a lot of humility and self assurance. 

I cherish the moments I got to spend with him whether it was in the class or just chatting with him after the class. He would ask me questions about the concert I attended the evening before wanting to know all the details such as what was the main raga and kriti that particular performed, what was the Ragam, Tanam, Pallavi, what was the kanakku (talam and calculation) in the pallavi etc. It was always absolutely amazing to sit and listen to one of his old concerts with him. He would listen to it and dissect it as if a third person was performing.  It was a wonderful time in my life, when I got to organize his concert with his son and daughter in Boston in 2003 and when he stayed with me in my home for two weeks conducting work shops, teaching me a lot of facts about music and our three day get away in the white mountain area in New Hampshire.
               
Sir's compositions are such a popular item in the dance programs in the Boston area as it is all over the world. Some of our own local artists got to interact with him and they all have stories to tell about him. Here is one such story from Smt. Sunanda Narayanan, one of our popular dance teachers about her beloved "Lalgudi Mama".....

“His Maund tillana fell as sweet honey upon my ears and I recall you sang it at an event I attended some months ago. Can you please sing that song for me? I could keep listening to that song.” This was a request made to me by that doyen of Carnatic music, Shri Semmangudi Srinivasier,and the tillana was a composition of none other than legendary violin maestro Shri Lalgudi Jayaraman. This happened during the very first music lesson I had with Semmangudi Mama as we fondly referred to him in our family. When we shared his appreciation of the tillana with Lalgudi Mama subsequently, he received the news with the delight and childlike glee that was so typical of him. One could see how much it meant to Lalgudi Mama to have his composition showered with such warm praise by Semmangudi Mama, whom he held in great regard. Our family had a long and cherished association with both these legends and it was shocking to hear of Lalgudi Mama’s sudden demise this week, because the void left by such geniuses can never be filled.

The nostalgic memories of learning his lilting padavarnams and tillanas directly from him and Mama’s eloquent explanations as to why he created each musical nuance or word in the lyric came flooding back. It was always a choreographic challenge for my dance Guru Smt. Rhadha to render his vision of the composition in movement, but one that she greatly relished given the intricacy of his music. Lalgudi Mama would attend my sister’s and my dance recitals in Chennai to ensure that my mother (who sang for our performances) rendered his compositions with fidelity. So also when we presented his dance compositions in lecture-demonstration format at various venues in India. During the creation of his dance opera, Jaya Jaya Devi, where he composed over 3 hours of music in the span of just 4 months, it was amazing to see his creativity ‘on demand’ where he would send my Guru the music for each scene as it unfurled in his imagination, sometimes on a daily basis! His approachability made a deep impact on all of us dancers who were part of that production.

I feel extremely blessed to have had the good fortune of having known Lalgudi Mama and he will live forever through the incredible legacy he leaves in his musical compositions, his ‘baani’ (unique musical style), and his students many of whom are star Carnatic musicians today.

Sir's teaching style was very unique...such patience and detail oriented. Smt. Tara Anand, our own popular violin and vocal teacher has this to say about him.....

At the time that I held the violin for the first time as a little child in an attempt to play Carnatic violin, Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman represented that instrument and that instrumental music to me. Carnatic violin meant Lalgudi Sir.I grew up listening to veterans and he was the magical violinist for most of them. He could make the violin do anything he wanted, emote, dance and sing. His musical genius was only outdone by his remarkable intellect. My guru Srimathi T Rukmini was very influenced by him too and I still remember the moment my first guru Smt Vedavalli Ramaswamy ( Delhi), started to teach me Adamodi Galadhe in Charukesi. She looked into my eyes before she taught it to me and said as if she was handing me a treasure, "This is a Lalgudi padaandaram (version)"!

Even as an eight year old, I understood the sanctity of that name. I had the honor of learning his Composition, the yamunakalyani tillana from him at Smt Durga Krishnan's house, it was and is an experience to be cherished.

There is only one sun and one moon, likewise I feel there was, is and can be only one Lalgudi Jayaraman. He has left so much wonderful, brilliant music, one would need a hundred lifetimes to get a mere glimpse into it.

K.V.S. Vinay who is another popular violinist from our area has an anecdote that shows how even small children were affected by Sir's music.....

"Growing up in Delhi I had relatively few occasions to see Lalgudi mama (LGJ) live. However, I was fortunate to have two gateways to getting exposed to his musical genius –my father’s efforts in collecting LGJ’s music and the benefit of Prof. T.R. Subramaniam’s insights on the nuances of LGJ’s music.

Trying to summarize the impact of LGJ’s music on me is like trying to put an ocean in a bottle. But probably the most impactful aspects for me are his skills as an accompanist. His customization of the alapana in tune with the main artiste’s treatment of the raga and his ability to absorb, reproduce and often innovate on the main artiste’s swara patterns are nothing short of jaw dropping. LGJ’s music has been and will be a perennial source of happiness in my family. It is perhaps no coincidence that after attending his concert in 2003, my two year old niece christened her toy piano as “Lalgudi”. In a very fortunate turn of events, this child and her sister are now students of the same bani."

One doesn't have to be a vocalist or a violinist or a veena player or a flute artist to appreciate or to have been impacted by Sir's music . Dr. Pravin Sitaram who is one of the popular mridangist says, 

"Growing up as a child I was always attracted to Lalgudi mama's music. One of the earliest concerts that I remember listening to once I became serious about Carnatic music was a concert where Lalgudi mama accompanied Late Shri D. K. Jayaraman. On the mridangam was Guru Karaikudi Mani and the legendary Harishankar played the Kanjira. It was an electrifying concert where each one of them was just splendid. I still vividly remember this concert that happened in 1983 and watching Shri DKJ and Lalgudi mama exchange intricate laya patterns for Kathayya in Kalyani. It was an incredible experience that has stayed with me to this day. This is just one of the concerts that has influenced me - there are so many similar concerts that one cannot count on one's fingers. Lalgudi mama's playing now known as his bani, seamlessly woven intricate laya patterns in his Varnams, thillanas and swaram renditions that were just so mind boggling. Simply put the transitions from the swarams to the eduppu were so seamless and the variety was just incredible. Lalgudi mama's kirthanam renditions were so delicately nuanced that one could literally hear the violin sing the sahityam."

There isn't anybody who is in the music world and didn't get affected by Sir's music in some way or form. Smt. Aparna Balaji, one of the music teachers from our area has this to say..... 

"I have had the privilege of interacting with Lalgudi sir a few times in my life. I have had the opportunity to attend a few of his workshops I experienced his passion for the art of Carnatic Music, and also the love for imparting it to the next generation. I got opportunities to listen to many of his concerts , even some where he accompanied my father Shri. O.S Thiagarajan,I slowly started to understand his greatness which lead me to listening to concerts from the past, where he had accompanied starlwarts like , Shri. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, G.N.Balasubramaniam, Shri. Madurai Mani Iyer, Alathur Brothers, Nedanuri .Shri. Krishnamoorthi and so on. Only then was I able to follow his talent of being spontaneous as an accompanist. I came to know more about him as a musician, and started learning his compositions. Some of his compositions bring tears in my eyes, not just for the meaning of the composition, but for the music by itself. He has brought a whole different meaning to composing and imparting. I am truly blessed to have visited him in 2007, in his house and chat for a little while about his experience of being an accompanist and a soloist. I could see the kid in his gleaming eyes, when he so enthusiastically shared moments from the past with starlwarts like Madurai Mani Iyer, and Shri. Vellore Ramabadran. All in all, I consider myself very lucky to have had even these few interactions. A complete musician who was able to improvise, inspire, impart and educate. This trendsetter will continue to live in our lives and in the lives of generations to come through his wonderful compositions and exquisite musical scores."

One cannot be a dancer and not to have had fun choreographing one of Sir's pada varnams or thillanas or jathi swarams. The way the music flows in them and the way the sahithyam or the lyrics fit the music and allowing the dancer to do the choreography with unlimited scope and imagination is very unique in his compositions. Smt. Jothi Raghavan, another one of our popular dance teachers had the opportunity to meet and spend some time with him in my home in 2003. This is what she has to say about him.... 

"Lalgudi as he is fondly referred to was A legend in his own time has enriched the world of music and dance with his unconditional out pouring of compositions. I have had minimal personal contact with him but used to be in heaven that he recognized me and remembered my name whenever I met him. The credit goes to his down to earth style of interacting with people and his razor sharp memory. I have choreographed for several of his varnams, thillanas and Jathiswarams. The swarams, words and the meaning are so beautifully poised that the flow is extremely smooth for a dancer to give her all - blend with the piece. The Rasikapriya Jathiswaram - even without any sahithyam makes one visualize the sheer joy and beauty of nature, The sahithyam in Madhuvanthi thillana - Manam kollai konda kanna.. and the way he has set it is absolutely heart rending .I can go on and on ..

We have heard stories such as composer Annamacharya being the reincarnation of the sword of Lord Venkateswara and Purandaradasa was the reincarnation of Sage Naradha etc. It won't be an exageration if we say that Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman Sir was the reincarnation of the Music Trinity, St. Thyagaraja, Sri Dikshidar and Sri Shyamana Sastry all rolled into one and that is exactly why the Chinmaya Mission, Boston bestowed the title "Lalitha, Laya, Gambeera" and Dr. Vijayakumar who came up with this very appropriate title had this to say at the felicitation... 

The first word of the title is Lalita which means elegantly playful. It suggests the quality of elegance noted in Saint Tyagaraja’s compositions. It is also the name of Devi or Shakti who is the creative feminine aspect of God. The elegance of this creation, which is said to be Lila, the play of God is the basis of this word.

Next word Layawhich means rhythm, represents the complex and intricate rhythm patterns for which Sri Shyma Sastry came to be known for. Sri Lalgudi’s compositions have some pleasant playful beats and some majestic strides, some lalita layas and some gambhira layas.

Hence, the next word, Gambhira, which means profound or majestic, epitomizes the musical quality of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar. Sri Lalgudi’s compositions have the depth of wisdom and the majesty of raga sancharas reminiscent of Sri Dikshitar’s compositions.

When put together, the title, Lalita Laya Gambhira is not just a compounded word but also a word which suggests the divine quality of Sri Lalgudi’s music. Interestingly, these are the first three syllables of his name also.

We will not see another such unique human being like Sri Lalgudi Sir in our life time. While we all feel the enormity of the loss, we can also take comfort in the fact that he lived among us and we got to know him as a great musician, composer, artist, teacher and an extraordinary human being. He will live with us forever and ever through his compositions and the thousands of recordings of his music.