The Incurable Romantic

Lalgdi Jayaraman was a colossus in the field of Carnatic music, much-acclaimed by musicians across the globe. His musical style, 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. This engaging biography deftly incorporates 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 Indian music tradition and Lalgudi’s role in ensuring that his beloved instrument got its due on the national and international stage.