Sangita Kalanidhi

Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi

Soulful is a befitting word to describe the music of Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi — a fifth generation musician of the illustrious Lalgudi bani, and an artiste who wears many hats.

A violinist par excellence and a vocalist of repute, her performing career is as versatile and varied as her talent: a solo artiste, an alter ego and violin duo partner of her brother Lalgudi GJR Krishnan, and a virtuoso accompanist to well-known vocalists including Sri T. V. Gopalakrishnan, Smt. Aruna Sairam, Smt. Sudha Raghunathan, Sri Chitravina Ravikiran, the Malladi Brothers, and Abhishek Raghuram, among others.

Daughter and disciple of legendary maestro Padma Bhushan Sri Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, Vijayalakshmi's foray into music was natural. She began her training at age five under her father's guidance, and made her formal stage debut at thirteen. In the mid-'80s, a 30-city North American tour launched her international career — one that has since taken her to the USA, Canada, UK, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, the Middle East, and Russia.

Holding a degree in English Literature and a Diploma in Music, Vijayalakshmi is counted as a torchbearer of the Lalgudi bani — taking tradition forward without ever compromising its core. She has collaborated across classical genres, performed jugalbandis with Hindustani masters, and led a pioneering all-women Violin-Venu-Veena ensemble on a 15-concert US tour.

As a composer she has thillanas, varnams, and orchestral works to her credit. In 2017 she co-composed the dance drama Sambhavami Yuge Yuge, premiered in Cleveland. She recently released Shuddha Swaroopam — poems of Kaviyogi Shuddhananda Bharathi tuned by her and rendered by Bombay Jayashri, Abhishek Raghuram, Amritha Murali, and Bharat Sundar.

In 2014 she founded Krutagnya, a charitable trust dedicated to making music accessible, nurturing young violinists, and spreading awareness of the art through free workshops and concerts. She was jointly awarded the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi by The Music Academy, Chennai in 2022.