Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Remembering musicians of the recent past
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Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

Deeply regret that Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan) of Pondicherry passed away today morning.

My heartfelt condolences.

Sachi_R
Posts: 2174
Joined: 31 Jan 2017, 20:20

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Sachi_R »

This is very sad news. I think Sri Ponbhairavi was active even very recently here.
May his soul rest in peace.

(fixed the spelling)
Last edited by Sachi_R on 13 Oct 2018, 22:12, edited 1 time in total.

Sundara Rajan
Posts: 1081
Joined: 08 Apr 2007, 08:19

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Sundara Rajan »

Shocked and saddened to hear the news of his passing away. Condolences to his family and friends.

kvchellappa
Posts: 3596
Joined: 04 Aug 2011, 13:54

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by kvchellappa »

Sad.

Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

Ponbhairavi (Prof. V Rajagopalan, JIPMER) was the Founder-Secretary of Bhairavi Music Circle, Pondicherry. As Secretary, he managed for more than 25 years with great interest and dedication.

Post #7 of this thread gives a glimpse of his admirable contribution to Carnatic Music.
viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14075&p=172331&hil ... ed#p172331

thanjavooran
Posts: 2972
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by thanjavooran »

A very sad news. Condolences to his family members.
RIP

bilahari
Posts: 2631
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 09:02

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by bilahari »

Condolences. A very active, enthusiastic, and encouraging member of our forum. I enjoyed his reports from Pondicherry.

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by rajeshnat »

He was a fanta fabulous contributor . May be I will recoup my thoughts and write on him a bit later. Sorry to hear the news refresh my memory PB-Jr how old is he , in one post he told I am 80 plus.

The whole pondichery must be mourning his loss for sure . My condolences to nadasudha (his daughther) and other family members whom I dont know. Also deep condolences to Bhairavi sabha patrons , the JIPMER students and faculty who all know him.

He has posted 1075 posts and he was indeed a definite Aayirathil Oruvan. Check his posts.
search.php?author_id=2171&sr=posts

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by rshankar »

Sincere and heartfelt condolences to his wife, son, daughter, and their families. May god grant them the strength to get through this. I met SrI Ragagopala Iyer the day after I joined JIPMER, and have known him for too many years to count. I’ve enjoyed some amazing concerts he organized through Bhairavi. I saw another facet of this multi-faceted man through Rasikas. It was my pleasure and privilege to have known him all these years. May he rest In peace!

mahavishnu
Posts: 3341
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by mahavishnu »

Very sorry to hear this. My deepest condolences to his family.
I had the pleasure of meeting him briefly outside the Music Academy with his daughter.

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by cienu »

Extremely sad to learn of the passing away of Sri PonBhairavi, a wonderful person and rasika

sridhar_ranga
Posts: 809
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 11:36

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by sridhar_ranga »

Deeply saddened to learn of Sri Ponbhairavi Rajagopalan's passing away. My heartfelt condolences to his family members, friends and fellow rasikas mourning his sudden demise. I attach great value to his encouraging comments to me on a few occasions on the Tamil/ kavithaigal threads a few years back... Om Shaanti.

CRama
Posts: 2939
Joined: 18 Nov 2009, 16:58

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by CRama »

Extremely saddened on hearing the news. He was a very learned and sensitive member of the rasikas family. We are poorer by his demise. Deepest condolences to his family members.

aaaaabbbbb
Posts: 2273
Joined: 31 Jan 2010, 14:19

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by aaaaabbbbb »

We have lost an invaluable asset.

May his soul rest in eternal peace.

May God grant the strength to his family to withstand the loss.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by arasi »

Can't believe this news...
Heart felt condolences to his wife, daughter 'nadasudha' and son, rest of the family and friends.
A friend on the forum, fellow-writer and poet that I have had the good fortune of knowing for many Rasikas.org years.

Met him only once, the man in black--Sabari malai-bound, with P Bala at the MA. I had left the Rasikas meet and they were late in arriving, but we could still meet later.
To this day, he remained a friend. Always cordial, with goodwill towards all. His tremendous capacity for writing, on top of his scholarship meant a great deal to us all. His translating skills and his fine sense of humor evinced in his writings, with a twist of irony, a french influence too, were precious.
We encouraged each other in writing. His detailed letter on reading my book of poems was moving and spoke of his generous heart.
A vital part of Rasikas,org, a valuable soul. I still can't believe that he is no more...
Hoping to meet him in the other world, if such a thing exists...

Pasupathy
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Joined: 26 Jan 2013, 19:01

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Pasupathy »

Deeply shocked and saddened. Though I knew only recently , we had long e-mail correspondences. His books are with me. and I introduced him in my blog and he even translated a French short story at my suggestion.
I still can't believe it. A truly multi-dimensional scholar and art lover.

Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

Image
Shri V. Rajagopalan
(1937-2018)
Last edited by Pratyaksham Bala on 15 Oct 2018, 19:35, edited 1 time in total.

nadhasudha
Posts: 381
Joined: 22 May 2006, 06:40

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by nadhasudha »

Thanks all for your kind words and condolences. He greatly enjoyed the virtual company of like minded folks in rasikas.org and made meaningful contributions to several topics with his wide knowledge of Tamizh, poetry, French Literature and carnatic music.

His influence on me has been immense and I have plenty of his writings to reflect upon both within rasikas.org and outside of it.

I will forever cherish the memories of the time spent with him and hold them dear to my heart.

Thanks again
nadhasudha(proud daughter of Ponbhairavi)

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by rajeshnat »

nadasudha
Can you share the year he was born and if possible where he was born and a brief biodata of his please.Mahakavi bharathiyar gave his best literature and poems when he was in Pondy. I am assuming your father got all of that being in Pondy with the same drive as bharathiyar, in atleast a significant scale in the direction of mahakavi.

PB Jr,
Can you reedit if possible under his photograph , the year born and dead (in post #17). If you donot have edit rights share it to Mods they will edit it.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by arasi »

Nadasudha,
Touched by your post. He was as proud of you, I'm sure.
How active he was, until a week ago, bringing us Shilpi's work in Meenakshi temple along with his other posts.
Keep his works alive, by sharing them here. Hope your mother is strong enough to bear with this sudden loss...

Pratyaksham Bala
Posts: 4164
Joined: 21 May 2010, 16:57

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Pratyaksham Bala »

rajeshnat wrote: 15 Oct 2018, 19:14PB Jr,
Can you reedit if possible under his photograph , the year born and dead (in post #17). If you do not have edit rights share it to Mods they will edit it.
Done.

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by arasi »

Rajesh,
Pasupathy in his nostalgia thread has posted Rajagopalan's tamizh translation of Dumas's work. You can learn more about him in the book's write up about the author.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Extremely saddened by the demise of one of the most knowledgeable,CIVIL Rasikas of this forum. I have enjoyed his posts although I am no Tamil Scholar.His service to Music and artists is immeasurable.

I will cherish his posts for their. erudition and grace.

Condolences to the family from a "soon-to-be" Octogenarian(Oct 22).

SrinathK
Posts: 2477
Joined: 13 Jan 2013, 16:10

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by SrinathK »

A sad day for all of us. Deepest condolences on the passing away of one more veteran rasika!

nadhasudha
Posts: 381
Joined: 22 May 2006, 06:40

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by nadhasudha »

<r><QUOTE author="rajeshnat" post_id="343186" time="1539611061" user_id="134"><s>
rajeshnat wrote: 15 Oct 2018, 19:14</s>
nadasudha<br/>
Can you share the year he was born and if possible where he was born and a brief biodata of his please.Mahakavi bharathiyar gave his best literature and poems when he was in Pondy. I am assuming your father got all of that being in Pondy with the same drive as bharathiyar, in atleast a significant scale in the direction of mahakavi.<br/>
<br/>
PB Jr,<br/>
Can you reedit if possible under his photograph , the year born and dead (in post #17). If you donot have edit rights share it to Mods they will edit it.
<e>
</e></QUOTE>

Rajeshnat - He was born in the year 1937 - April 4th 1937 to be precise. I have written a tribute for him and I am sharing it here.

Thanks Arasi ji!

How do I even begin to describe Appa? - A dynamic multifaceted personality who was the fulcrum of our family. A linguist, a poet, an author, a creative artist, a carnatic music rasika, a screenplay writer, an actor, a director, an athlete and above all a karma yogi who tread the path of dharma and so much more.

Born as the eighth child of Vengattaramayyar and Nagalakshmi and aptly named as Rajagopalan after Lord Krishna. He was affectionately called as பெரியம்பி within family circles. He was a very active child scaling temple walls in Karaikal, climbing coconut trees, rounding up all the kids in the neighborhood and regaling them with stories of magicians with flying carpets. He was very good in mathematics especially geometry but little did he know that he will make a career out of French.

He moved to Puducherry after completing his Baccalaureate degree in Karaikal and took up a job in the administration department at JIPMER . That is when he decided to do his M.Phil at Dharwad in Pune, in French and subsequently took up the post of Lecturer in French at JIPMER. I have heard through friends of mine that his lectures were very popular because the learning was made fun with a lot of humor thrown in.

Growing up our time at JIPMER campus was a golden time. Appa and his friends would get together and have late night chat sessions at our house verandah that would culminate in Appa writing and staging drama for Staff Nite at JIPMER. His forte was political satire and many a times he would have the audience in splits just being on stage. He was also an active member of Pondicherry Volleyball association and would spend a lot of time organizing inter state tournaments. Being an athletic person every Sunday morning would be spent playing badminton in the campus badminton court.

Then in 80's he found an outlet for yet another passion of his - carnatic music. He founded Bhairavi - a Carnatic music circle in Puducherry and successfully ran the sabha for 25 years with a membership model and one concert a month. He brought all major artists to Bhairavi and used to organize concerts, often with meagre membership funds. Many carnatic music legends have visited our house while staying opposite at the JIPMER guest house and have raved about Amma's freshly brewed degree coffee most notable among them being Shri. Umayalpuram Sivaraman.

Sampradaya Bhajans and Radha Kalyanams was another passion of his and he has organized numerous bhajans at our home supporting many bhagavathas.

He was a pillar of support to his parents, brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces and others in the extended family in tough times and has chaperoned countless relatives and friends for treatments at JIPMER. Never the one to complain about his health, he battled through a major spinal fusion surgery in 1999. His favorite lines were "Grin and Bear", " It is better to wear out than rust out" and "Simple living High Thinking" and he lived by all of it till his last breath.

His exceptional skills at geometry would come in handy later when he would make models of temple chariots, water tanks, temple gopurams out of cardboard and household materials which continue to adorn both my brother's and my house golus.

All through this, my Amma has been the person who maintained the household which gave him the freedom to engage in so many activities.

My brother inherited Appa's academic intelligence and is a successful practising Hematologist Oncologist while some of his artistic inclinations have rubbed off on me. His four grandsons have each inherited some of his talents.

He earned a lot of goodwill and friends who stayed with him through thick and thin. Never the one who cared much for material possessions I do not recollect ever seeing him wear any jewellery except for a watch which adorned his left hand.

He has published several books, written many short stories and tamizh kavidhais. His literary knowledge was very deep and spanned both French and Tamizh and he could easily discuss a Jean Paul Sartre, Subramanya Bharathi or the Silapaddikaram.

He also had a significant contribution( more than 1000 posts) on an online music forum called rasikas.org and went by the name of ponbhairavi - a mix of Pondicherry and Bhairavi - both very dear to him.

He was a stickler for tradition, yet with a modern outlook and a very principled person.

Full of Joie de Vivre he took whatever problems life threw at him head on. It is our purva janma punyam that we were co travellers on the journey of his for all these years. We are inspired to lead our lives like he has. And what an inspiration he has been!

We will continue to cherish the memories of the times we got to spend with him and will hold them very dear to our heart.

Adieu Appa!



</r>

thanjavooran
Posts: 2972
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by thanjavooran »

Excellent tribute from a very sincere devoted varisu.
Blessings.
Thanjavooran
25 10 2018

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by arasi »

Adieu, notre ami...
Nadasudha,
Yes, you are your father's daughter, indeed. Thank you for sharing with us your beautiful homage to him.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Dear Nadasudha: Nice poignant tribute!! Reading such high tributes from the Rasikas Community. makes ME feel I WISH I HAD SEEN HIM AND KNOWN HIM!!

Over my decades-long association with Music and Musicians--and having known every idiosyncrasy one could think of-- and the PATRONS AND SYCOPHANTS WHO SWARMED AROUND THEM, I have always "mused" about the countless self-effacing lovers of Music like your late lamented Father and the need for all of us the "rank-and-file" foot soldiers to honor his and other similar stalwarts' memories.

All that I can say is:MAY HIS(PONBHAIRAVI) TRIBE INCREASE!!!!

PuduvaiSivam
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Joined: 12 Sep 2012, 09:43

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by PuduvaiSivam »


shankarank
Posts: 4041
Joined: 15 Jun 2009, 07:16

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by shankarank »

Shocked to see this - a bit late. Sincere condolences to nadasudha!

nadhasudha
Posts: 381
Joined: 22 May 2006, 06:40

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by nadhasudha »

Thanks tanjavooran, Arasi ji, MKR and shankarank. While I do miss him a lot, I take solace in the fact that he has left me with a wealth of his writings - poetry, articles, books etc which I can continue to reflect upon. I do plan to share in this forum some of his writings as and when time permits.

Thanks again!

arasi
Posts: 16774
Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by arasi »

Nadasudha,
Please do share them in his own thread (Critics/Rasikas), so that his works remain together. Wonder what others think.

Ranganayaki
Posts: 1760
Joined: 02 Jan 2011, 06:23

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Ranganayaki »

I was so sorry to learn of this. My sincere condolences to Nadhasudha, and all friends here.

Nick H
Posts: 9379
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 02:03

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by Nick H »

Only today I came to know of this, so late.

So sad. Deep sympathy to you, Nadasudha, and to all his family and friends.

There are a handful of old-fashioned English words that hang around this community looking rather odd. I wonder how he would have felt to be called a stalwart? I wonder if he might even have giggled slightly! But truly he was a stalwart of rasikas.org. One of the great names, one of the great people.

nadhasudha
Posts: 381
Joined: 22 May 2006, 06:40

Re: Ponbhairavi (Shri V. Rajagopalan)

Post by nadhasudha »

Thanks for your condolences Ranganayaki.

Nick - You are right - he would have giggled - He greatly enjoyed the company of like minded folks and the virtual company kept him going when he started reducing his outside activities due to his advancing age. Thanks again

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