Remembering Shri Ramaraj

[jayaram]

It's been a year since Shri K Ramaraj (member vageyakara) passed away.
http://www.rasikas.org/forums/viewtopic. ... it=ramaraj

The sadness and the void still linger on...
Miss you so much.

[cienu]

Our Pranams to the memory of Ramaraj Sir .

[gobilalitha]

Carnatic music has become poorer,In fact , I,being a cousin of him wanted to post about it tomorrow, but Jayaram , a family friend should be thanked profusely for reminding all the forum friends about the day. gobilalitha

[Nick H]

He is in my mind whenever I drive down his road.

[cmlover]

We miss him very bad. He has been our guide over the years.
I miss a very personal friend.
May his soul rest in Peace!

[VK RAMAN]

we miss him. May his soul rest in peace

[arasi]

How time flies! How I wish Ramraj's songs were taken up by performers! As I have been requesting, how we the rasikAs could have a concert of Vilasini (Raji Gopalakrishnan's student) to listen to his songs!
The few times I have met him, I found him to be friendly and warm-hearted. So too, his wife.
We have/had enough vAggEyakArAs --and vocalists too on the forum but haven't heard our compositions sung by many.
The best way to honor Ramraj's memory would be for vidvAns and vidUshis to sing his songs in concerts.

[cmlover]

Well said arasi!
The best tribute to a Vaggeyakara is to have their compositions sung!
When is CM going to get out of the rut

[mahakavi]

I did not meet Sri. Ramaraj in person but we were the best of friends sight unseen. It is like kOpperunj cOzhan and PisirAndaiyAr friendship. I had the pleasure of working with him on all his Thamizh compositions--in editing them to conform to proper transliteration and getting them republished in karnatik.com. We were scheduled to meet during his next visit to Nashville but that was not to be. I sent him a little poem honoring him on his 71st birthday. He was thrilled about it and returned another in kind. Remembering him with fondness.....
I am reproducing the poem below:

ANDugaL ezhupatton RAyinum iLamaiyuDan
mINDum vaLamuRavE vAzhttugiREn isaiyarasE!
mANbuRu kavipunaindu isaikkup paNiseydu
yANDum innalinRi vAzhga^nI tamizhmaganE!

ஆண்டுகள் எழுபத்தொன் றாயினும் இளமையுடன்
மீண்டும் வளமுறவே வாழ்த்துகிறேன் இசையரசே!
மாண்புறு கவிபுனைந்து இசைக்குப் பணிசெய்து
யாண்டும் இன்னலின்றி வாழ்க நீ தமிழ்மகனே!

[arasi]

Mahakavi,
Wish he had lived longer!

[mahakavi]

Here is an article featuring Sri Ramaraj written in Oct '07.
http://archives.chennaionline.com/music ... usic40.asp

[Nick H]

Thank you for that article: I wish I had read it while he was still alive.

[cmlover]

Subramanian
That is news to me! He never mentioned his collaborations with you! The ones in Karnatic with the audio are really rare collections though the audio is poor. He is one soul who was not properly appreciated by the performing community. I was hoping he will contribute a lot to this Forum. Fate willed otherwise... I am left with some fond memories. I loved his Tamil compositions very much...Thanks to you for the indirect help...

[cienu]

Thank you Mahakavi for the link .

[jayaram]

Dear friends,

Another year has gone by since Shri Ramaraj left us...

My homage to this brilliant vaggeyakara and wonderful human being.

This kriti of his in Vasanti ragam has been rendered so beautifully by MN Sriram, who is a member of this forum: http://www.karnatik.com/c3480b.mp3


By the way, he had shared his composition in Kapi ragam with me, but I am not able to locate it. Could someone who has an audio clip please share.
(He has embedded the raga mudra beautifully in this kriti.)

Thank you.
Jayaram

[cmlover]

His memory will always be green!
May his soul find solace wherever he be...

[arasi]

Strange, Just recently I wondered as to when he left us. Wasn't sure if it was in May or June.
I missed him at my CD release in February. He was more dedicated in working with his songs than I ever can aspire to. A kind soul he was. Hope we hear more of his songs in the future.

Jayaram,
Thanks for the vAsanti song. Ramaraj comes to mind whenever I hear this rAgam mentioned. M.N. Sriram sings it beautifully. I love the charanam in particular.
Good to hear from you. You are a rare bird! Hope you are going to make it to the season this year...

[gobilalitha]

I have very often stated that you just mention a raaga to him, he will immediately compose his own songin a matter of minutes . priyadarshini raag was discussed with him by my daughter Swati Venkatraman, he composed asong at once

[rshankar]

May his soul rest in peace!

[srkris]

Thanks to Jayaram for recalling memories of Sri Ramaraj. We should let his family know we still remember & cherish his association with us.

[vasanthakokilam]

I remember his association with us very well. We cherish those memories and his enthusiasm for music. Thanks Jayaram.

[cienu]

Thank you Jayaram for recalling the memories of our dear Sri Ramaraj.
Cant believe that it is over two years since he shed his mortal coils.

[arunk]

I have met him only once and still look back at that meeting fondly. His enthusiasm for music and his knowledge was amazing - more so when you consider his down-to-earth and unassuming demeanor.

Arun

[VK RAMAN]

I have met him only once and still look back at that meeting fondly. His enthusiasm for music and his knowledge was amazing - more so when you consider his down-to-earth and unassuming demeanor.

Arun

Well said arunk. This is my impression also about ramraj

[Nick H]

Arun, I only met him two or three times. He was quick to make an impact ... of friendliness and warmth.

Sadly missed.

[gobilalitha]

Here is one of Ramaraj's composition in raaga ratipatipriya
http://www.karnatik.com/c3488.mp3

[jayaram]

Dear friends,
One more year has gone by since Shri Ramaraj left us... he is always with us through his music...
Please listen to this lovely kriti in Gurunaathapriya ragam ('Nashville' appears in the kriti lyrics!): http://www.karnatik.com/c3559.mp3
- Jayaram

[arasi]

Thank you, Jayaram. Nice of you to bring Sri. Ramaraj's song in his voice to us. He was a good man and a composer who ventured into many unheard of rAgams like this gurunathapriya.
Good to hear from you. Hope you aren't traveling that much and are able to listen to some concerts in London. You did not make it to the season, I guessed--otherwise we would have met.

[jayaram]

This is a brief remembrance note. Can't believe it's 5 years since Shri Ramaraj left us.
Here he sings his Kannada composition 'mAta bhavAni SivE' in Kannada ragam (ragamudra is beautifully embedded in the lyrics):
https://soundcloud.com/karnatik/c3563

Pranams to the great soul.

[cmlover]

Unforgettable he is !
May his soul rest in peace...

[arasi]

Jayaram,
Is it really five years since our Ramaraj passed away? We have lost Gobilalitha too recently, another gentleman and rasikA.

Thank you for the clip. Ramaraj put his heart and soul into his music. Time flies, but music stays...

[jayaram]

Can't believe it is seven years since Shri Ramaraj left us... you will stay in our hearts forever, dear sir.
Here is a lovely kriti by Shri Ramaraj in Vishnupriya, sung by him:
https://soundcloud.com/karnatik/c3470

[arasi]

Jayaram,
Thanks. You bring back memories of Ramaraj, someone we so much liked and admired.

In this recording, he is in such good voice too. VishNu priyA and such rare rAgAs he composed in, as well. We do miss him.

How Raji Gopalakrishnan sang a few of his compositions in her concerts!I missed hearing her the past several years. A stand-out musician in her own right...Did she sing in Chennai last year? She must be busy teaching too. Lakshman might know...

Thanks again, Jayaram. Ramaraj was a special individual. Among us seniors, GBL and him are missed very much. Need I say?

The other senior, dear CML is still hiding (well, is busy with his own life), and today, you have set me up on a nostalgic trip...

[maduraimini]

Thanks for Sri Ramaraj's songs. He is missed by all of us.