Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no more

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venkatakailasam
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Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no more

Post by venkatakailasam »

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Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more
Chennai, 27 May 2014

Well known Carnatic vocalist Jayalakshmi (82), one half of the famous Radha-Jayalakshmi duo, passed away in the early hours this morning. Ailing for quite a while, she had been hospitalised for about a month when the end came.
Posted by Sruti Magazine at Tuesday, May 27, 2014

RIP

thanjavooran
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by thanjavooran »

A very sad news. My deepest condolences to all her family members and disciples.
Thanjavooran
27 05 2014

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

A very sad news-- Our family was very close to their family--a model of unity and modesty--They sang at my sister's
wedding in July 12,1954 for the Reception --spent several summers at their house in Saidapet in the fifties.Under the late T.R.Balu's tutelage she blossomed into fine singers carrying the torch of the GNB School. While both of them were unique in their own way,Jayalakshmi's alapana,krithi rendering was subdued while Radha's style was robust.(Jayalakshmi's mannerism was akin to MLV's) They blended well in their prime.
They were cousins--their mothers were sisters--despite being a large family they stayed together--at the height of their popularity they were still very humble and classy in their social connections.
Loss of a good friend of our family.
Deepest condolences to the surviving members of the family.

mahavishnu
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by mahavishnu »

Sincere condolences.

cienu
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by cienu »

Heartfelt condolences

rshankar
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by rshankar »

Sincere condolences!

rajeshnat
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by rajeshnat »

Condolences to the family of vidushi and also their sishya parampara.

mohan
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by mohan »

Saddened to hear this news. In my formative years of music, I used to listen to their recording of Papanasam Krithis a lot.

gardabha_gana
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Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by gardabha_gana »

Sad to see the morning obituary in the hindu. Have many memories going to their concerts as a kid in Bangalore. Deep Condolences.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp ... 055360.ece

hnbhagavan
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by hnbhagavan »

Very sad to learn Vid Jayalakshmi's demise.May her soul rest in peace.

Rsachi
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by Rsachi »

Brilliant musicians.. Enjoyed many of their concerts on radio and live.
RIP

kittappa
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Joined: 22 Sep 2011, 13:21

Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by kittappa »

'The Hindu' obituary note says, 'Like the Alathur Brothers, Radha and Jayalakshmi were cousins'.
The Alathur Bros were not relatives. Sivasubramania Iyer was the son of Alathur Venkatesa Iyer and was a Telugu brahmin. Srinivasa Iyer was a Tamil brahmin though both belonged to Alathur near Trichy. Radha-Jayalakshmi were, of course, cousins.

munirao2001
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by munirao2001 »

Sad to know about the demise of Vid.Jayalakshmi. Vid.Jayalakshmi and Vid.Radha also learnt Mudduswamy Dikshita compositions and Dasara Padams from my Father and Guru Late Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa Rao, besides their learning from GNB mama. They introduced brisk, lively and attractive presentation. Akara sudham stands out in their rendering, which has become a rarity.

munirao2001

HarishankarK
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by HarishankarK »

Very sad news, she was a great carnatic vocalist and also an admirable film playback singer who sang in Tamil, Malayalam and Telegu films also.

But carnatic vocal she sang with Radha as duo Radha Jayalakshmi. Only yesterday i was hearing their Kamala Charane song in youtube; They had something very electric and sparkling in their carnatic music style and usually one could expect very fast paced sangatis in alapana and krithis from them with good bhavam also. Raga used to come and shine without any ambiguity immediately in their style.

Aren't Priya sisters student of Radha Jayalakshmi besides also being TRS students? Any other students of Radha Jayalakshmi?
But in the last 2 decades they disappeared from the music scene. No information is available why? Both of them Sangeet Natak Akademi award winners !
Some of their youtube videos are superb.

arasi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by arasi »

Sorry to hear the news. Condolences to the family and students.

Yes, I remember her 'playback singing', but can't recollect which films and what songs. CML and others might remember. Listened to the sisters this morning after a long spell, 'the super speed train' as we had named them in our younger days--from a TV clip Sanjay has posted in his blog. Loved it...

ganesh_mourthy
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by ganesh_mourthy »

Their voice and clarity is a bliss. The high pitched voice and still without any shrieking or jarring is fantastic control. I always wondered how they managed without any pitch instruments and technologies to achieve such purity. May her soul rest in piece. I still have a piece and often listen to lalitha - hiranmayeem with a nice akara prelude of them. I don't know who among them does that higher notes all the time. And , Maname Muruganin Mayil Vakanam ...Is that Jayalakshmi too? or Radha?

Sundara Rajan
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Saddened to hear of the death of Jayalakshmi. My very early exposure to carnatic music included AIR's frequent broadcasts of their three 78 rpm records in Sriranjani, nArAyaNi and mArgahindOLam ragas in late 1940s. I have also attended some of their live concerts later. May her soul rest in peace.

arasi
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Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by arasi »

Mods,
There are two threads on vidushi Jayalakshmi's demise. Kindly merge them.

The Obituaries Section as it were, goes under the name of Music and Musicians of the Past. This was introduced recently because the General Discussions Section gets flooded with too many posts...

Ponbhairavi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by Ponbhairavi »

Among their cine songs maname muruganin mayil vAhanam and MAlai mayanguginra neram in ragamAlikai were very popular. Their dinamani vamsa in harikAmboji is a gem.it forms part of an L p which contains mAye in tarangini. *In fact all the songs in that LP. We're super.It is strange that the C M world turned a blind eye towards them for. Th last 2 decades! they were not even called to preside over or to distribute prizes .!!

Pratyaksham Bala
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

arasi wrote:... I remember her 'playback singing', but can't recollect which films and what songs ...
Check this for details of Year/Movie/Songs :-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radha_Jayalakshmi

arasi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by arasi »

Pr B,
Thanks. A mighty long list, and S. Balachandar and Nagiah among other big names of music directors! Yes, Some of the fifties and early sixties songs are familiar to me.

PB,
Yes, the sisters did fade into oblivion--not even featured on the stage for prize distribution and such, let alone for being honored.

maduraimini
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Re: Vid. Jayalakshmi (Radha-Jayalakshmi duo) passes away

Post by maduraimini »

Very sorry to hear about the demise of Smt. Jayalakshmi. I used to love their songs filled with brigas . Their songs were very synchronized and flowed fast. May her soul rest in peace.

varsha
Posts: 1978
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by varsha »

Three tracks which I like immensely
A sombre rendering of their Gurus composition . The swaras never fail to move me
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/gbmmkp3 ... NB-C_).mp3

Arasi should like this special treatment of an Ambujam Krishna song
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/daaf7kh ... rishna.mp3

And a cracker of a Marubalga - duelling in its pristine form - they succeed in giving the impression of limitless possibilities with the scale
http://www.mediafire.com/listen/uwfj98y ... _balga.mp3

varsha
Posts: 1978
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi is no more

Post by varsha »

Th last 2 decades! they were not even called to preside over or to distribute prizes .!!
Yes . That is a tragic part of the lives of such veterans . Something we saw and recorded with the likes of Manakkal , Somu's Widow , Kalpagam Mami , Tanjore Sankara Iyer , DKP , GS Mani....
---
The OLD AND The NEW

There is a world of difference between working with new lumber and wood that has seen years of service to man.

New lumber has the smell of oak moss , leaf mold and sometimes violets. Its smooth uniform surfaces speak of gang saws ripping through the knots and gnarls of a thick log.

Old wood has a woody smell only when it is sawed. Then the heavy fragrance of rotting timber fallen long ago blend with the acrid odour from the finish singed by the saw. There are also hints of the room once inhabited , of a subterranean dampness , or a wine spill.

New lumber has not forgotten the green growth of the forest. It has sticky resin – sometimes a pocket , sometimes a sheen . And juices which make it expand and contract , curl and cup .Bow and warp.

Old lumber is resigned to a life of service to man, and it submits to his will and whim .It hardly moves it hardly changes.It is stable and mature accepting of the time and space found .But occasionally an old board lets out a sigh that sounds like a long forgotten whimper , or a bullet’s report.

New wood looks like a topographical map .

Old wood depicts history as well .Coronations , civil strife and invasions. The ubiquitous nail holes have crowns , halos and lances that can be metallic , russet or black. Discoloured streaks and patches reveal where pictures once hung , the sunlight fell or the molding was.There are bruises and gashes , charred traces of cigarettes stamped out too late and tiny particles of ghostly chalk that seeped through from plaster boards into two-by-fours.

Used lumber is an inheritance that usually goes unclaimed .It becomes one’s own , when it is turned into needless objects. The rehabilitation project is an adjustment .

The start is where others left off.

Charles Fenyvesi in Washington Post

Ramasubramanian M.K
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Arasi/varsha et al: Varsha--beautiful quotes and very apropo--
Yes--it is unfortunate that they sank into oblivion too prematurely FOR NO FAULT OF THEIR OWN--they were dignified in their professional dealings with Sabhas (but never caterwauling about being neglected) and at the height of their popularity when Jayalakshmi was busy with Film music recordings--they would to meet all their Kutcheri commitments,extremely sensitive to their accompanists' plight(as they were exclusively playing for them)lest their failure to meet commitments impact the accompanists.Jayalakshmi's mother who managed their concerts and travelled with them was herself a good Veena Player(Pattammal--an A grade AIR artiste).

Despite the fact that both the sisters(cousins) had not been able to complete their College education because they broke into the Music Scene very young,both of them were very well read --Jane Austen,louisa May Alcott .The whole family was well read and very hospitable especially to our family--they insisted on singing for my sister's wedding despite the fact that the MSAmma family was close to us.They were both 22 yrs of age at that time!!
When myself and my sister were growing up--in the early fifties,whenever we come to Chennai from Bombay for the Summer vacation,J's mother would be the first person to greet us within hours of our arrival in Mylapore at my uncle's house inviting us for lunch the next day--my maternal Grandmother used to joke to J's mother "When can we expect Chinnani-- her daughter and my mother--to eat at our house!!).
folks sorry for being nostalgic and perhaps a trifle boring!! But the Sisters were genuine celebrities who were both friendly and approachable
' THOSE FRIENDS THOU HAST,THEIR ADOPTION TRIED: GRAPPLE THEM TO THY SOUL WITH HOOPS OF STEEL"--SHAKESPEARE IN HAMLET--

THE SISTERS were true adherents to the Bard's homily!!
In 1990, when one of the Mylapore sabhas(probably Bharathi Vidya Bhavan or Karthik Fne Arts) decided to observe Mayuram Viswanatha Sastry's Birth centenary(Mayuram Viswanatha sastry composed patriotic songs in Sanskrit and popularised by GNB--Jayati Jayati Bharata Mata,Samarasabhavana etc) Sastry's son himself in his late eighties was feted--my father was one of the speakers and when the question of WHo to invite to sing some songs of Sastry my father suggested the sisters and they rendered a few songs--that was the last public appearance that I was aware of.
It seems to me that the "curse" was that they had a meteoric rise when they were not even 20 years old and were sort of pioneers in women's Vocal Duos and with the untimely demise of their guru T.R.Balu,their claim to the legacy of the GNB Bani added to their popularity. As meteors do they too suffered the same fate.
re; their film songs (I have not checked PVB's list!!) they sang in most of Pakshiraja Films(SriRamulu naidu from Coimbatore)--one of them I remember Palaniappan Nin Padam Maraven Eppadavi Vandalum in Simhendramadhyamam

arasi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by arasi »

Varsha,
Thank you for bringing the vidushis' elaborate treatment of two of our modern composers' songs. I haven't heard 'nidam orutharamEnum' in ages, and that too sung for that length of time!

annamalai
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by annamalai »

I love this movie song rendition of Jayalakshmi - Maname Muruganin Mayil vahanam

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uKUXueJYDc

what a voice.

rajeshnat
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by rajeshnat »

slo
Ramasubramanian M.K wrote: In 1990, when one of the Mylapore sabhas(probably Bharathi Vidya Bhavan or Karthik Fne Arts) decided to observe Mayuram Viswanatha Sastry's Birth centenary(Mayuram Viswanatha sastry composed patriotic songs in Sanskrit and popularised by GNB--Jayati Jayati Bharata Mata,Samarasabhavana etc) Sastry's son himself in his late eighties was feted--my father was one of the speakers and when the question of WHo to invite to sing some songs of Sastry my father suggested the sisters and they rendered a few songs--that was the last public appearance that I was aware of.
MKR Sir,
At the age of 55 to 60 looks like they faded out . This is just happening all the time for many many musicians . Possibly the dual musician slots were slowly taken by Bombay sisters, Priya sisters and RG sisters as time rolled by. Have they participated in giving any lecdems workshops etc in 70's and 80's that you know of ??. I think one way to stay longer in musical circuit that too from second half of careers is slowly "brand yourself as a great GURU" and possibly give lecdem and thematic concerts - possibly they did not do that at all.
Last edited by rajeshnat on 31 May 2014, 09:53, edited 1 time in total.

rajeshnat
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by rajeshnat »

A bunch of songs is uploaded by raju asokan. They stayed intensely classical despite their film career which to me is quite an achievement.
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_q ... atic+songs

arasi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by arasi »

Rajesh,
I don't think many women musicians gave lec-dems and workshops then! Even if one did, one had to be a product of a music school and prabably had to be teaching in one too??

Narasimha
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by Narasimha »

Looked like Radha was unwell from quite few years and they had to stop performing from past 2 decades.

CRama
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by CRama »

Sorry for chipping in very late. I was on a long tour - from Kashmir to Kanyakumari. Returned just a couple of days back.

The demise of Smt Jayalakshmi is a great loss to the music field. The duos were one of my favourite musicians right from my young age. My parents also liked their music very much. I have heard lot of their live concerts and records from Radio Ceylon and AIR right from my childhood. One of the earliest concert that is still in my memory – 1970 -was in Tagore Theatre, Trivandrum for the AIR conducted Swathi Thirunal Festival- a concert of full ST Kritis. I distinctly remember an elaborate Bhavapriya (Mamavasritha) and Bhairavi (Palayadeva deva- a very rare song) in that concert. To our surprise, they also sang verses from Utsavaprabandham and Panchasayaka janakan in Neelambari in faultless Malayalam - a surprise for us in those days.

Next to the Female Trinity of CM, they sang in all the sabhas. I have heard them in TVM (many venues), Bangalore and Chennai. In Ninetees I heard many memorable concerts in Bangalore. I immensely enjoy the expansive alapanas of Kambodi, Shanmugapriya, Subhapanthuvarali etc by Jayalakshmi. Their LP records were also in great demand. The two Thyagaraja Kritis LP records were well packaged. Sogasuga, Rama nee samana, Lavanyarama, Ninnuvina namadendu, Ennalu Oorage were all top class. They used to sing all the sangathis in Ninnuvina namadendu in a commendable manner which is normally played only in instruments. (MS also used to sing similarly). Their Purandaradasa Kritis and ugabogas are a rage among Kannada knowing people. Very recently I got a song Nee maayayolego – a composition of Kanakadasa in Yadukulakambodi- simply haunting. People used to look for ragamalika slokams in their concerts. In the Keerthana casette of Pancharathna Kritis, each song was preceded by a slokam.

I remember reading a review by Subbudu in his characteristic style- where he rated Jayalakshmi's voice much superior to that of Parveen Sultana.

In fact, Radha began losing her voice in the late eightees, but Jayalakshmi's voice was sweet and pliable till the last concert. As to their last concert, Music Academy bestowed TTK Award on them in 2000 – a poor compensation for not awarding SK- and at that time, they presented a concert of GNB Kritis in Academy. That may be their last concert.

Many of their film songs – mostly in carnatic raga based were popular. In the Malayalam film Kumarasambhavam in the early seventees, acted by Gemini Ganesan and Padmini, there was a dance by very young Sreevidya and Rajasree for which a marathon song in Khamas- Maya natana viharini which included a plethora of swaras in Khamas and also ragamalaka swaras was sung by Jayalakshmi and P.Leela. This is a must hear song- akin to Ellam inba mayam of MLV and P.Leela. This song is sung by many children in the final round of Super singer series in Malayalam. The only film song sung by both the sisters is Thiruchenduril por purinthu in the film Deivam- This is a very melodious song in Kavadichindu form music scored by Kunnakudi Vaidyanathan. Jayalakshmi will live through her innumerable concert recordings available with music lovers.

arasi
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by arasi »

CRama,
Thank you for your post.
I knew they had their share of playback singing, but not to this extent. I wanted to listen to the khamAs song, and also wanted to see Srividya in the dance sequence. I found a link to the movie, and it comes on in about thirty minutes. Yes, there is a bit of rAgamAlikA too, and a volley of svarAs.

Who is the young woman dancing with Srividya? Was Kunnakkudi the music director? I can't read malayALam :(

Hope you all had a lovely trip of bharath darSan.

CRama
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Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by CRama »

Arasi madam, The music Director of Kumarasambhavam was Sri.Devarajan, the most famous music director of Malayalam films. All the songs in that film were classical hits sung by KJY, Jayachandran, Madhuri, P.Leela, S.Janaki etc. The film was directed by P.Subramanyam of Merryland, TVM. Happy to note that you enjoyed the song. The other dancer is Ms Rajashree, who has acted in many Tamil films as well. She was paired alongwith Ravichandran in the ever green hilarious film Kathalikka Neramillai.

MY long trip was a very happy and enjoyable trip which will remain in our memory for long. Even though I belong to TVM and visited the town umpteen number of times, this was the first time I visited Suseendram temple and Padmanabhapuram palace.Simply marvellous.

ganeshkant
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Re: Vidushi Jayalakshmi (of Radha-Jayalakshmi Duo) is no mor

Post by ganeshkant »

CRama,I as a rasika can't but concur with your views about JL.I am really sorry that I haven't heard any of their concerts in person.One can easily understand the latent emotional appeal and love for the artist in your post.Let us all stand together in our love for music as also the artists.

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