An Incurable Romantic

Back of the Book A fourth-generation musician in a family of distinguished artistes, Lalgudi Jayaraman’s initial infatuation with music soon flowered into a flaming passion and remained so all through his life. Over the years he emerged as a colossus in the field of Carnatic music, acclaimed by musicians across the globe. His musical styles the Lalgudi Bani, distinctive enough to be named after him. Revolutionized the art of violin playing and served as a vehicle for his creative expressions as a path breaking accompanist, soloist and composer. A saga of passion and kismet, hard work and sacrifice the musical journey of Lalgudi Jayaraman is about the power of music and its undying spell. This engaging biography begins with the stories of Lalgudi’s ancestors and deftly weaves facts with trivia to create a narrative that is at once historical and anecdotal, informative and interesting intertwining the threads of his life with the strings of the violin, it is also an examination of the violin in the Carnatic music tradition and Lalgudi’s role in ensuring that his beloved instrument got its due on the national and international stage.