S. Rajam no more!

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 29 Jan 2010, 21:51

Just heard the announcement on rasikapriya!

Condolences to the family and ALL of his students!

MaheshS · Post by **MaheshS** » 29 Jan 2010, 21:52

I just saw the email

Sad loss to CM !!

Abhimanam · Post by **Abhimanam** » 29 Jan 2010, 21:56

Big loss to CM world.. Heartfelt condolences to Sri Rajam's family

rasaali · Post by **rasaali** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:31

Heartfelt condolences to his family and disciples.

What a unique legacy he has left as a person that combined excellence in multiple disciplines.

May his soul rest in peace

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:45

Condolenses to the family and disciples

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 29 Jan 2010, 22:50

what a loss! My sincere condolences.

ksrimech · Post by **ksrimech** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:30

Will miss mama. Heartfelt condolences to his family and students.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:37

Condolences. An article in Tamil by Lalita Ram (gamakam here) on Sri Rajam.

http://www.varalaaru.com/Default.asp?articleid=955

baradu2 · Post by **baradu2** » 29 Jan 2010, 23:38

S.Rajam thatha (actually my thatha's brother so he is periya thatha) passed away this evening at 7:30. was there till 7pm. got info that he had lung failure and pneumonia. he was 91.

VichitraVeena · Post by **VichitraVeena** » 30 Jan 2010, 03:00

Our heartfelt condolences. He is THE person indeed to whom the carnatic fraternity is indebted to, for providing a standardized image of the Trinity and many other composers through his paintings. A great artist, musician and teacher !! May his soul rest in peace.

ragam-talam · Post by **ragam-talam** » 30 Jan 2010, 03:22

ajit · Post by **ajit** » 30 Jan 2010, 05:27

A great loss.

VichitraVeena,
I was thinking the exact same thing and also probably from now, that photo should carry his name somewhere(on the back or some corner) so that the future
generations.

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 30 Jan 2010, 06:39

A great loss.Our hearfelt condolences to the family members.

Sam Swaminathan · Post by **Sam Swaminathan** » 30 Jan 2010, 06:49

Our heartfelt condolences to the family....

Srkris...wonderful write up of Rajam Sir....surely there should be no more arguments about vivadi raagas!

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:04

Thought he was immortal!
Now he is indeed immortal...

suma · Post by **suma** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:12

This is sad. May his soul rest in peace.

maduraimini · Post by **maduraimini** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:28

Sorry to hear about Sri S. Rajam's demise.This is a big loss for Carnatic music. I just read his recent interview and he seemed as sharp as ever. He was not only a musician but an artist as well. I remember seeing his pictures in the Deepavali Malar. He has acted in films too. An all-rounder. Condolences to the family.

veeyens · Post by **veeyens** » 30 Jan 2010, 07:52

This ia persnoal loss to me as I was his classmate in P.S.High School, Mylapore in forms iv, v, and vi in academic years 1033-34, 1934-35, and 1935-36. I feel but for his efforts ,Sri Koteeswara Iyers compositions will not be as popular as they are now. I am just recapitulating in my mind various incidents that happened during that time. His rendering of navagraha kritis are very popular in our household May his soul rest in peace.

tkb · Post by **tkb** » 30 Jan 2010, 09:18

our sincere condolences.

Radhika-Rajnarayan · Post by **Radhika-Rajnarayan** » 30 Jan 2010, 09:47

A giant is no more. All of us were fortunate to have heard him, to have interacted with him and some had the good fortune of learning from him.
Deepest condolences to his family and his many students.

mohan · Post by **mohan** » 30 Jan 2010, 10:01

Sad to hear the news of the loss of yet another giant from the world of arts.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Jan 2010, 10:40

What a rich life! How many contributions to the arts--particularly to music and painting! He came from a family which was gifted in every possible expression of the arts. He could have lived another decade--had he, I have a feeling he would have been as sharp as ever, living with his music and his painting.
We thank God for gifting us with a family which added so much to CM and more.
May his students carry on with his blessings and with what he has gifted them. While the family and rasikAs miss him, he has joined his illustrious brother and rest of the family now. Where they are now, they will be making music together, I imagine.

veeyens,
Good to hear of your school days with him. Later, when he and Balachandar were grown up, I had the pleasure of spending some time with them--even observe their rehearsing a musical radio play for hours on end! A ten year old girl was fascinated by the way the musical brothers worked together on the script. Wish I had met him again after all those long years!

babaji · Post by **babaji** » 30 Jan 2010, 11:15

With heavy heart and a confused mind i say to myself "let his soul rest in peace" but my mind is still making me think that he is there still solitary at 90 and painting as actively as ever and ever positive as we watch him while passing in nadu street these images seem to repeat again and again.

Sri S.rajam my guru personally known to family members as Raju was a musical storekeeper with the storehouse of knowledge that existed since Naina pillai,Veena dhanam,Mysore Vasudevachar,Papanasam sivan,maharajapuram vishwanatha iyer ,Ariyakudi ramanuja iyengar,G.N.balasubramaniam, till his personal favourites Semmangudi srineevasa iye, voleti venkateshwarulu,tanjore kalyanaraman.
We used to relish the brilliant stories that he told of his past as a young boy as a man and many other avatars he donned. A brilliant painter also a very successful one because i saw him busy till his last breath he was given orders for all his paintings and he would work feverishly with a young boys enthusiasm of discovering something new. Its going to be hard for all of us to get back to normal lives to have known and been with the master in close quarters however happy that he lived a full and positive life.
Condolences to his daughter,sons and other family members.

babaji · Post by **babaji** » 30 Jan 2010, 11:18

With the passing away of Sri S.Rajam koteeswara iyer passed away again.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 30 Jan 2010, 14:14

Please don't say that. Then, what is the value of all of SR' years of work in propagating KI's works with such devotion? More vidvAns and vidUShis are now singing his compositions--young artistes too. We hope that all his students are going to further his work by continuing to popularize KI's krutis.
Good to know you are one of his students.

Radhika-Rajnarayan · Post by **Radhika-Rajnarayan** » 30 Jan 2010, 14:27

Here is a link to a small feature in the Radel newsletter - what is written there, does not measure even a drop in the ocean of knowledge that he possessed, but was written with the utmost regard that we have for him.
http://www.radelindia.com/NewsLetterDet ... ingId=Mg==
Another link to my post on Sri Rajam's free-flowing imagination:
http://rasikas.org/forums/post147941.html#p147941

There is so much more to say, as his disciples know! Yes, he was aged; yes, everyone has to go - but it is so hard to come to terms with the loss of all these greats within such a short time.

We just have to be grateful that we were fortunate to listen to, enjoy and learn from them.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 30 Jan 2010, 14:35

A great loss to the CM world. His paintings of the Trinity and the 12 Chakras have left deep imprints in the minds of all music lovers. Shri Rajam's passing away is truly the end of an era.

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 30 Jan 2010, 19:50

Shri S Rajam represents an ideal in so many ways and his passing is the passing of not merely a profoundly versatile "artist" in so many dimensions but also the passing of a way of life. Anybody tuned into CM alive today probably cannot remember a time when there was not the constant reassurance of the presence of this gentle giant, fixed like the pole star, on Nadu Street, in the spiritually redolent hinterland of the Kapali temple. I am given to believe that he was born in and died in that same house or at least has been there since very early in his life. This is something of rarity in the modern day, as much as it was the norm in the not too distant past. One is grateful for this grand figure who bucked the modern trend.

It is upon the next generation of potential venerable figures to take their cues from these past masters who are leaving us with a painful regularity and build themselves into figures worthy of such veneration by the values they embrace in their own lives. Only then will the our heritage continue. Otherwise, they will disappear like the Okawango river into the deserts of the shallow neurosis that is the modern way of life.

It is also a reminder to all of us to actively seek the audience of the elders while they are alive and healthy and seek their blessings to keep us focused on things that are of real value. It is my profound regret not having done so with Shri Rajam and having to meet him after his passing.

chalanata · Post by **chalanata** » 30 Jan 2010, 19:50

till the end he extracted work from his brain. a complete life. a sadhaka attained moksha through sadhana.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 30 Jan 2010, 21:28

Uday_Shankar wrote: It is also a reminder to all of us to actively seek the audience of the elders while they are alive and healthy and seek their blessings to keep us focused on things that are of real value. It is my profound regret not having done so with Shri Rajam and having to meet him after his passing.

well said Uday.
There are still musical giants like RKS/LGJ/TNK/UKS/PP/KS/BMK/Mankkal/ ... and many more left who are physically and mentally active. Pl those who have access to them interact with them and post here at the Forum those episodes. We all would love to hear from them. They not being computer savvy will not voluntarily post here. But you guys who are in situ can meet them and talk with them and share the experiences with us. They are indeed living CM history!

We did indeed miss a golden opportunity with Vid||Rajam. His recollections are indeed precious!

rbharath · Post by **rbharath** » 30 Jan 2010, 23:32

my heartfelt condolences

RIP

Sivaramakrishnan · Post by **Sivaramakrishnan** » 31 Jan 2010, 12:57

Rajam Sir was one who valued time - every moment of it. Watching him at work was a lesson in itself!

vijay · Post by **vijay** » 01 Feb 2010, 11:41

Terrible news. May his soul rest in peace

Gamakam · Post by **Gamakam** » 01 Feb 2010, 14:27

I am still trying to come in terms with his passing away. One would attribute living in "nadu Theru" to a 'not so well off' person. He was so unique that, he lived as "Rajam" despite spending good part of his life in "nadu theru".

Artist Maniam Selvan and I were among the last few who bid farewell to the great man.

Next time, when I have question on Veenai Dhanammal or Thiruveezimizalai Bros. I wont know whom to go to.

It is my great misfortune for not having Rajam sir around when I complete his documentary as a presentable product. He ensured he was around till we recorded as much as we wanted to.

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 01 Feb 2010, 23:50

We eagerly await your docementary! Inform us when it is ready...

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 02 Feb 2010, 06:27

I was intrigued by the late doyen's remark in an interview that his great-grandfather (koLLut tAttA) was Sri VAnjiyam Subbarama Iyer who wrote several padams. Now we have another Subbarama Iyer of VaidIswaran kOyil who wrote lots of padams. Does anyone know about the padams written by Sri VAnjiyam Subbarama Iyer? I am not sure whether they are one and the same (the former getting associated with VaidIswaran kOyil later on)

smala · Post by **smala** » 02 Feb 2010, 06:29

Watch this vidwan live here....a rare video.....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PopaaKyQUcw

Enjoy this brief 27 min concert.

His voice is Divine - even with age !

cmlover · Post by **cmlover** » 02 Feb 2010, 07:00

I have the 'Mutthu kumAraswAmy padam composed by bhikShANDAr koil Subbarama Iyer published (1906). He was very popular in the 19th Century and his songs were avidly danced by Devadasis during the early part of the 20th century. Wonder he is the same..

Gamakam · Post by **Gamakam** » 02 Feb 2010, 10:24

I have asked Rajam sir abt. Srivanchiyam Subbarama Iyer. He mentioned that he couldn't get hold of any of his sahithyam.

mahakavi · Post by **mahakavi** » 02 Feb 2010, 10:25

OK, I have got the answer. One correction. Sri S. Rajam mentioned in the interview that SrivAnchiyam Subbarama Iyer was his "koLLut tAttA" (great-grandfather). Not so! His memory must have slipped. Actually he was his "eLLut tAttA" (great-great-grandfather).
This is the lineage: Subbarama Iyer ---> Mangaleshwar-----> Raosaheb Vaidyanatha Iyer--->Sundaram Iyer---> S. Rajam ( and his sibblings: Jayalakshmi, Saraswati, Balachandar, Karpagam, and Gopalaswamy).
It is an intersting story narrated by Sri. Balachandras's son (SBS Raman). Read it all here:
http://sbsraman.tripod.com/generalphotoalbum/id1.html

It is now clear that VaidIswaran kOyil Subbarama Iyer is another person who lived in and around SIrkAzhi.
As for BikshANDAr kOyil Subbrama Iyer, he is another person obviously. I think Bikshandar koyil is near Trichy.

Don't fail to notice the photo of Sri Rajam in the article (sitting on the thiNNai of a house in the village agrahAram.

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 02 Feb 2010, 11:26

Thanks mahakavi.
A family history which touches us all because of its musical history too! Wonder if Balachandar named his film Tirumbip pAr inspired by the tiruppippAr! family GaneSA story. In those days, it was a novel title for a film.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 03 Feb 2010, 20:23

Heartfelt condolences! Unfortunately, I do not know much about him as a musician, but his paintings of the Trinity will be etched in the minds of all CM rasikas for ever!

ramakriya · Post by **ramakriya** » 03 Feb 2010, 23:51

A brief post about the "Raja" of Vivadi: http://neelanjana.wordpress.com/2010/02 ... f-vivaadi/

This includes a slideshow of some of Sri S Rajam's paintings, along with my favorite rendition of a Muttuswamy Dikshita's composition by Sri Rajam.

-Ramakriya

smala · Post by **smala** » 04 Feb 2010, 00:10

Ramakriya, thanks for the link.

Here's more on the twin-sided notion of music and art and how Lewis Thompson of England was instrumental in influencing his paintings:

....
1.1. The Chitrasutra of Vishnudharmottara, an ancient text dated around sixth century AD, states that one needs to understand music to be a good painter. That might be because the rhythm, fluidity and grace of music have to be transported to painting, in order to make the painting come alive and open its heart to the viewer (sah-hrudaya). That ideal requirement found its fulfillment in Shri S Rajam an eminent musician who is also blessed with a unique gift of creating sublime art works. He practiced both the arts with devotion and dedication over long years of his fruitful life.

....continued at length here..http://ssubbanna.sulekha.com/blog/post/ ... -rajam.htm

vijisubra · Post by **vijisubra** » 05 Feb 2010, 10:35

Dear All
Can see the warmth and love that every one had for Rajam Sir on this forum. The way to move on is to feel happy that we lived at the same time as he and had the good fortune to know him and learn from him.
Wanted to share my write up about him soon after he passed away. been published in today's Friday features, Hindu.

http://www.hindu.com/fr/2010/02/05/stor ... 040400.htm

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 05 Feb 2010, 10:52

A touching tribute Viji. Thank you.

Divya Gopalan · Post by **Divya Gopalan** » 05 Feb 2010, 10:53

very nice write up. Thanks for sharing this!

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 05 Feb 2010, 11:30

Vijisubra, thanks very much for that, its very well written and manages to capture his life and routine in a capsule.

People usually write the achievements of their gurus, but this was so different and more realistic.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 05 Feb 2010, 12:17

A huge amount of space devoted, by The Hindu, today, to his music, dance, acting and life. A very substantial tribute.

rajeshnat · Post by **rajeshnat** » 05 Feb 2010, 14:21

vijisubra, excellent write up for a truly great man .