The strange style of Lalgudi G J R Krishnan

Mr R Thyagarajan, founder and (till recently) Chairman of the Shriram group of companies, an ardent fan of carnatic music for over seven decades, is an atheist. However, God for him is one person – Lalgudi Jayaraman. Thyagarajan-sir proudly calls himself a ‘Lalgudi extremist’, and loves Lalgudi’s music to such an extent as to aver that there is no need for anyone to listen to anyone else’s carnatic music.

Not surprising, therefore, that Mr Thyagarajan should have continued to love Lalgudi G J R Krishnan’s music, which he sees as an extension of the elder violin maestro’s. Thyagarajan-sir feels Krishnan’s style of alapana is, apart from being “refreshingly different”, is also highly intellectual and imaginative.

If GJR Krishnan’s performance at the Music Academy this season is truly a sample of his bow play, then I strongly disagree with Mr Thyagarajan. Intellectual it may be, but good it was not. For, Krishnan’s style appears to be to build the alapana almost entirely relying on micro-short phrases, each containing not more than four notes—the Todi at Music Academy was really one such alapana. The result was a raga essay that sounds more like a child rubbing its palms on an inflated balloon. It is somewhat like a person giving a speech, resolving that each sentence would not contain more than four words.

Since I haven’t heard Krishnan much, particularly in the recent years, I do not know if the Todi is a sample of his style, but Mr Thyagarajan says it is. I doubt it, because Krishnan played a Rasikapriya later in the concert, which was not as much a chain-of-small-links as the Todi was. (A better contrast to the Todi-style was provided by Krishnan’s sibling, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, who played a superb Madhyamavati, building up the alapana, brick by brick, with long phrases. It was a treat to listen to her.)

I wish Krishnan changes his style. It needs no mention that he, perhaps owing to being a Lalgudi scion, is exceptionally talented violinist. He can easily change his style—all it calls for is his willingness to do so.

His brilliant play was evident in all parts of the concert other than the Todi. The composition that followed the Todi alapana, Syama Sastri’s Ninne Namminanu, as well as a Kalyana Vasantham filler (Saint Thyagaraja’s Nadaloludai) were numbingly beautiful. As I mentioned in my review of the concert for The Hindu (http://m.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/befitting-a-lalgudi-scion/article8050189.ece) the violin almost spoke the words as he was playing Nadaloludai.