LalgudiVijayalakshmi
A fifth generation musician of the illustrious Lalgudi bani, Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, daughter and disciple of legendary musician, (late) Lalgudi G Jayaraman, is an artiste who engages both deeply and variedly with her music. As a violinist, she performs solo, duet and collaborates with artistes across genres. She is also an accomplished vocalist, a composer, and a teacher. More recently, as founder of Kruthagnya (a Sanskrit word for gratitude), Vijayalakshmi has been conceiving and realizing initiatives and projects that help create awareness about music and its many aspects among the general public and the lesser privileged in society. With a sparkling four-decade-long journey in music, Vijayalakshmi has been recognized for her music that is both through a sling of awards and accolades. But personally, a compliment she holds as particularly special is one that Pandit Ravi Shankar ji, legendary sitar maestro showered on her, following her performance in the United States a few years ago. “You have your father’s fingers,” he said to her.
Among the many accolades and awards Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi has earned in her journey as a musician, there is one she holds close to her heart – a compliment from Bharat Ratna Pandit Ravi Shankar, who was the guest of honour at her performance at the Indian Fine Arts Academy of San Diego, United States, in 2015. Following her performance, Panditji offered his blessings, took her hands into his own, and said “You have your father’s fingers. Your music has touched my soul.”
Soulful is a befitting word to describe the music of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi, a fifth generation musician of the illustrious Lalgudi bani, an artiste in her own right and one who wears many hats. A violinist par excellence and a vocalist of repute, her performing career is as versatile and varied as her talent; a solo artiste, alter ego and violin duo partner of her brother Lalgudi GJR Krishnan, a virtuoso with absolute mastery over his music. The duo has travelled all over the world participating in various prestigious music festivals.
Vijayalakshmi also provides violin accompaniment to other well-known vocalists and musicians – Smt. Aruna Sairam, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan, Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Sri O. S. Thiagarajan, Sri Vijay Siva and Sri Chitravina Ravikiran, Malladi Brothers, to name a few – complementing their potential and enhancing the overall musical experience with her masterly accompaniment.
Daughter and disciple of legendary maestro, Padma Bhushan, Sri Lalgudi G Jayaraman, Vijayalakshmi’s foray into the world of music was but natural. Born into a household steeped in music and growing up with it as her constant companion,Vijayalakshmi gravitated towards music, showing both promise and potential even as a toddler. When she turned five, her father, a guru par excellence, became her teacher, initiating her into the world of the violin and allowing her to discover the world of music that he had so inimitably made his own. At thirteen, she made her formal stage debut. Slowly but steadily, one performance after another lead to her blooming as a performance artiste. As she stepped out of her teens, Vijayalakshmi came into her own, unfurling to the world an artiste who could perform solo, collaborate and share stage space with the menfolk in her home. Quiet and dignified, her music sparkled with a style and character of its own – rooted and resilient, free-flowing and flexible, a coming together of emotions with an abundance of empathy.
In the mid ‘80s, a 30-city tour around North America set off her soulful journey as a performing artiste. There has been no looking back since. With a slew of performances – solos, trios and duets – under her belt, Vijayalakshmi, who holds a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Music, is counted as a torchbearer of the Lalgudibani, taking tradition forward without ever compromising its core.
Over the years, Vijayalakshmi has travelled far and wide with her violin and her voice, allowing people across the world – USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia Middle East, and Russia – to soak in the magic of this music.
Vijayalakshmi’s vocal performances are perhaps the most authentic vocal representation of the Lalgudibani. She has released a host of vocal albums as a vocalist. She has sung in the movie ‘Sringaram’ to which her legendary father scored music.
Her music has won her awards and accolades aplenty – Yuva Kala Bharathifrom Bharat Kalachar, Chennai; Sangeetha Kalasagara from Kalasagaram, Hyderabad; Sangeetha Choodamani from Sri Krishna GanaSabha, Chennai; Tantri Nada Mani from his Holiness
Jayendra Swamigal; Kanchipuram, Award for Excellence from Maharajapuram Santhanam Foundation, Chennai; Best Accompanist Award from The Music Academy, Chennai; Kalki Krishnamoorthy Memorial Award from Kalki Krishnamurthy Foundation, Chennai; Indira Sivasailam Endowment award jointly from The Indira Sivasailam Foundation and The Music Academy, Chennai. Recently in December 2018 Vijayalakshmi received the title Nada Vallabha from Nada Sudha, Chennai.
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi is an A top ranked artist of the All India Radio.
If aesthetics is the spine of her music, collaboration and innovation are its everlasting companions, urging her to seek continually, grow and widen her own repertoire. Along the course of her career, Vijayalakshmi has collaborated with musicians from across classical genres and has dabbled in the world of fusion too. She has also had the opportunity of sharing the stage in jugalbandis with her counterparts from the world of Hindustani music – Violin maestro vidushi Kala Ramnath, Sitar maestro Ustad Shahid Parvez Khan, Slide guitarist artiste Debasish Bhattacharya, Sarangi artiste Ustad Murad Ali, Flautist Pandit Pravin Godkhindi to name a few.
One among her several projects is a music ensemble – Violin, Venu (flute) and Veena, a concept pioneered by Sri Lalgudi G Jayaraman. Vijayalakshmi led a first-of-its-kind, all-women Violin-Venu-Veena ensemble on a very successful concert tour of the United States performing over 15 concerts.
Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi is making a mark as a composer as well. She has to her credit a few thillanas and varnams. In the year 2017, Vijayalakshmi and her brother Lalgudi GJR Krishnan composed both lyrics and music for a full length dance drama ‘Sambhavami Yuge Yuge’ which was premiered in Cleveland and won the appreciation of many dance exponents.
In September 2017, Vijayalakshmi successfully staged a thematic presentation ‘Pancha Bhootham’, in Dallas, USA. She composed five orchestral musical pieces for this presentation depicting the five elements, earth,water,fire,wind and ether. She worked with over 50 high school music students for many months, and got them to perform with her on stage. The program was a huge success and won much appreciation.
Vijayalakshmi’s creativity has found expression in over 100 poems in English and Tamil on a variety of themes including nature and music. She has set some of her Tamil poems to tune herself. Besides winning many hearts around the world, her poetry has also caught the attention of the music and dance fraternity. In 2018, leading Bharathanatyam dancer Vidhya Subramanian gave a performance with a few of Vijayalakshmi’s Tamil poems.
Vijayalakshmi is a teacher with empathy – she loves sharing her music with a diverse set of students, many of whom are readying to take flight on their own in the world of Carnatic music.
A scholar and a presenter across many forums in the country and the world, she has delivered many well-researched and meaningful lectures on various aspects pertaining to the music and musicality of the Lalgudibani.
In 2014, Vijayalakshmi launched Krutagnya (Sanskrit for gratitude), a trust aimed at making music more accessible to the less privileged, creating awareness about varied aspects of music through a series of lectures and workshops, and providing a stage for budding violinists from different schools to showcase their talent. It is also her desire to contribute to creating a bridge binding the Carnatic and Western music systems. After all, in her world of music, as far as possibilities in creations and creativity are concerned, both within and around, the sky is the limit.
