I vividly recall that day in 1998. It was during the study holidays ahead of my third semester examinations. I found it particularly hard ...
I vividly recall that day in 1998.
It was during the study holidays ahead of my third semester examinations. I found it particularly hard to get a hold on the subject of fluid dynamics. A friend’s father offered a helping hand and had asked me to come over.
He and his wife were sitting on the porch, stringing flowers they had picked from their garden. The radio was on in the background. Someone was playing Pankaja Lochana on the violin; a Swati Tirunal composition. As we exchanged pleasantries, none of us bothered much about the music.
A bit later, as I opened my book, gentle strains of the raga Sindhu Bhairavi filled the room. The aalap could not have lasted for more than two minutes. But in that short burst, I felt as if there was a vital message to the world that was incredibly simple yet profound.
I wanted to know who was playing this transcendental music. “Oh! Who else can play like this?” came the reply. “It is TN Krishnan!”
We pretty much spent the rest of the day without another glance at the book.
It took me another five years to hear Krishnan live. In the meantime, I had listened to several of his old recordings,...
