I regret to inform everyone, that Shri. K.Ramraj, the forum's beloved Vageyakara passed away last night. I just got the news this morning and was shell shocked to hear the news. Day before yesterday i happened to talk to him over the phone and i just couldn't believe that he is not alive today!! Condolences to the bereaved family and friends. May his soul rest in peace.
P.S: His no : 044 - 24420442. Those who wish to call and be with his family at this hr of crises can do so.
May be Mama is no more in physical sense but he continues to live through his compositions... Yet its a GREAT LOSS to Music..
Sad Demise of Shri. K. Ramraj
-
srinivasrgvn
- Posts: 1013
- Joined: 30 Nov 2008, 07:46
-
knandago2001
- Posts: 645
- Joined: 05 Sep 2006, 10:09
-
S.NAGESWARAN
- Posts: 1076
- Joined: 11 Feb 2009, 08:54
-
arasi
- Posts: 16873
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
Such sad news.
I cannot believe this.
He was recovering well, and I was hoping to see him at the end of this year.
An impressive vAggEyakArA and a good man who composed songs in rAgams I hadn't even heard about. Music and composing were his passion.
Our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs. Ramaraj and family.
I still can't believe this...
I cannot believe this.
He was recovering well, and I was hoping to see him at the end of this year.
An impressive vAggEyakArA and a good man who composed songs in rAgams I hadn't even heard about. Music and composing were his passion.
Our heartfelt sympathies to Mrs. Ramaraj and family.
I still can't believe this...
-
vasanthakokilam
- Posts: 10958
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 00:01
-
cmlover
- Posts: 11498
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36
I just cannot believe this. Just last week I talked to him and he said he is quite OK and that he has fully recovered. I did give him a number of pointers to avoid any relapse. I am simply shocked that he is no more. No doubt he is one of the Finest Forum Member besides being an inspired vaggeyakara. He continues to live in our hearts through his compositions. Profound condolence to his family and admiring friends who will miss his corporeal presence.
May his soul rest in peace, now that it has merged with the Almighty!
May his soul rest in peace, now that it has merged with the Almighty!
-
gobilalitha
- Posts: 2056
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 07:12
-
ragam-talam
- Posts: 1896
- Joined: 28 Sep 2006, 02:15
-
vs_manjunath
- Posts: 1466
- Joined: 29 Sep 2006, 19:37
-
ganeshkant
- Posts: 963
- Joined: 05 Feb 2010, 11:59
-
Sreeni Rajarao
- Posts: 1288
- Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:19
-
thanjavooran
- Posts: 3038
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 04:44
-
uday_shankar
- Posts: 1473
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:37
-
mahavishnu
- Posts: 3341
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 21:56
-
rshankar
- Posts: 13754
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26
Very sad and shocking news!! I am saddened to know that I did not get to meet him in 2008, when he was still not fully recovered, but having seen his posts online in the past couple of months I'd assumed that he had recovered and was looking forward to meeting him on future trips - well, we all know what happens to the best laid plans of mice and men 
.
My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Ramraj and his family. May he live forever through his compositions. I am hoping that Smt. Raji Gopalakrishnan or others will bring out a/several volume(s) of his compositions as a tribute....
.My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Ramraj and his family. May he live forever through his compositions. I am hoping that Smt. Raji Gopalakrishnan or others will bring out a/several volume(s) of his compositions as a tribute....
-
arasi
- Posts: 16873
- Joined: 22 Jun 2006, 09:30
How proud he was of Raji Gopalkrishnan's vidvat and happy that she sang his songs! When I knew that Vilasini was on the Podigai show that Nivedita presents, I thought how happy he would have been to see and hear her sing in the show. She sings his songs as well (a desciple of RG). It was soon after RG's concert that he introduced Vilasini to me saying: iva romba nannA pADugiRAL. Ninga kETkaNUm.
Once again, my thoughts are with his beautiful wife and his family.
Lakshman,
I haven't met him after the Rasikas Meet where you were honored. I met Ramaraj half a dozen times that season and what an amiable person he was!
He lived in music. He would be hearing the angels sing now...
Once again, my thoughts are with his beautiful wife and his family.
Lakshman,
I haven't met him after the Rasikas Meet where you were honored. I met Ramaraj half a dozen times that season and what an amiable person he was!
He lived in music. He would be hearing the angels sing now...
Last edited by arasi on 24 May 2009, 04:32, edited 1 time in total.
-
Always_Evolving
- Posts: 216
- Joined: 16 Oct 2007, 08:33
-
rajeshnat
- Posts: 10120
- Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04
Very very sad news, I did go to his home to pay last respects to Shri rAmaraj at his indira nagar residence today . May his soul rest in peace. He is one great man who was always appreciative of present CM artists and always he had his own taste .
A few months back I just requested him to ask Smt rAji gOpAlakrishnan to render his hamsAnandi composition as atleast a sub main at a concert in hamsadhwani. He was humble and said enakku tukkada pOrum.
A few months back I just requested him to ask Smt rAji gOpAlakrishnan to render his hamsAnandi composition as atleast a sub main at a concert in hamsadhwani. He was humble and said enakku tukkada pOrum.
-
jayaram
- Posts: 1317
- Joined: 30 Jun 2006, 03:08
By now you have all heard the sad news.
I am choking with emotions as I write these words.
Shri Ramaraj was such a great soul. I feel so privileged to have known such an amazing person.
More than being a great vaggeyakara, he was such a wonderful human being.
So warm hearted - I can still see him standing outside his house waiting for me, like a worried father, as I arrived at his place from Bangalore two years ago. The few days I spent with him during that trip would stay with me all my life.
I was hoping to see him last year when I went to India. However, because of my own mother's demise I couldn't make it to Madras. How I wish I had!
Oh Ramaraj sir, you have left a deep void in this rasika's heart!
His voice brings back such fond memories - http://www.karnatik.com/c3563.wav - what wonderful compositions!
I am choking with emotions as I write these words.
Shri Ramaraj was such a great soul. I feel so privileged to have known such an amazing person.
More than being a great vaggeyakara, he was such a wonderful human being.
So warm hearted - I can still see him standing outside his house waiting for me, like a worried father, as I arrived at his place from Bangalore two years ago. The few days I spent with him during that trip would stay with me all my life.
I was hoping to see him last year when I went to India. However, because of my own mother's demise I couldn't make it to Madras. How I wish I had!
Oh Ramaraj sir, you have left a deep void in this rasika's heart!
His voice brings back such fond memories - http://www.karnatik.com/c3563.wav - what wonderful compositions!
-
cmlover
- Posts: 11498
- Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36
-
Ashwin
- Posts: 226
- Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 23:48
We are consumed by sadness at hearing this news about our beloved Ramaraj Uncle. Simply a wonderful person with a big heart and great passion for all things musical. We are privileged to have learnt two of his compositions directly from him and so regret that we were not able to say goodbye, to thank him one last time for his tremendous warmth and generosity. We will miss you greatly, Ramaraj Uncle, and know that your music will sing your praise, along with the rest of us.
Ashwin and Rohin
Ashwin and Rohin
-
rrkaushik
- Posts: 17
- Joined: 11 Oct 2006, 20:16
Obituary - K. Ramaraj (vageyakara)
The Carnatic music world will indeed be saddened by the demise of Sri Ramaraj. I was blessed to be first associated with Ramaraj Mama during his stay of a few months at Nashville. His enthusiasm for all things musical was infectious and we shared many unforgettable days together, singing, listening and talking about music. During our time together, his musical imagination was indefatigable and resulted in many compositions in rare ragas. I particularly remember his teaching me the key phrases in the rare raga, Kanthamani, and his creativity in raga phrases was inspiring. We shared a mutual passion for the music of the great Andhra masters who had influenced his music so much - Voleti and Nedunuri. We would often talk on the phone during the day and after some deep discussion about some raga, I would find an hour had sped by! Needless to say, the office did not see many productive days of work from me during that time. We concluded that the incurable music "paithya-kaaratanam" (insanity) disease had infected us both. We kept in touch through sporadic emails. In retrospect, I feel I was fortunate to have visited him during our India trip two years ago. He welcomed me like a long-lost son and the intervening years vanished in an instant as we resumed our conversations. He was very passionate about his rasika.org friends and recommended that I participate in the forums. He was greatly amused when I told him that life was too short to indulge in unnecessary net-arguments and trolling about an art that should elevate us. He teased me as being a musical "sthitha-pragyan" and gently chided me about not generalizing so much - he particularly mentioned Sri Jayaram, "cmlover" and several others.
As a vaggeyakara, Sri Ramaraj's openness to all musical styles made him appreciative of Madurai Somu to MDR and the whole spectrum in between. Impressively fluent in multiple languages, he would cleverly introduce raga names and svaraksharas in his compositions. He told me that he preferred to compose in rare ragas since the great composers had already explored the more developed ragas in depth and it was difficult to make a unique contribution in them. He was a great supporter of vivaadi ragas, as his many compositions will testify. I introduced him to two ragas he was unfamiliar with - Shadvithamargini and Vishnupriya (the creation of Sri Thanjavur Sankara Iyer) - and it is a testament to his composing flair that within less than a week, he called me with great excitement that his compositions in these ragas were complete! He was intimately associated with many musicians - Prof. T.R.Subramaniam was a particularly close friend. Several modern musicians including Raji Gopalakrishnan continue to propagate his compositions. He was very encouraging and supportive of younger musicians in particular.
He was immensely proud of his sons who are all working professionals and music rasikas in their own right. He was also very appreciative of the strong support throughout his life from his wife saying that it must be his good karma that resulted in his getting a practical, capable and good natured wife - since it needs a lot of patience to put up with a music "paithyam" who scarcely knows the time and is completely oblivious of the humdrum tasks of domestic life. A man of unfailing good humour and warm heartedness, his smile was never far away. I was greatly looking forward to renewing our association in Chennai next year but it was not destined to be. Our heart goes out to the bereaved family and the entire Carnatic music fraternity. Ramaraj Mama - you will be missed by us earthly souls, although you are probably blissfully at the feet of Goddess Sarasvati, creating another sublime creation in another new raga. Rest in Peace.
Ram Kaushik
Nashville, TN
The Carnatic music world will indeed be saddened by the demise of Sri Ramaraj. I was blessed to be first associated with Ramaraj Mama during his stay of a few months at Nashville. His enthusiasm for all things musical was infectious and we shared many unforgettable days together, singing, listening and talking about music. During our time together, his musical imagination was indefatigable and resulted in many compositions in rare ragas. I particularly remember his teaching me the key phrases in the rare raga, Kanthamani, and his creativity in raga phrases was inspiring. We shared a mutual passion for the music of the great Andhra masters who had influenced his music so much - Voleti and Nedunuri. We would often talk on the phone during the day and after some deep discussion about some raga, I would find an hour had sped by! Needless to say, the office did not see many productive days of work from me during that time. We concluded that the incurable music "paithya-kaaratanam" (insanity) disease had infected us both. We kept in touch through sporadic emails. In retrospect, I feel I was fortunate to have visited him during our India trip two years ago. He welcomed me like a long-lost son and the intervening years vanished in an instant as we resumed our conversations. He was very passionate about his rasika.org friends and recommended that I participate in the forums. He was greatly amused when I told him that life was too short to indulge in unnecessary net-arguments and trolling about an art that should elevate us. He teased me as being a musical "sthitha-pragyan" and gently chided me about not generalizing so much - he particularly mentioned Sri Jayaram, "cmlover" and several others.
As a vaggeyakara, Sri Ramaraj's openness to all musical styles made him appreciative of Madurai Somu to MDR and the whole spectrum in between. Impressively fluent in multiple languages, he would cleverly introduce raga names and svaraksharas in his compositions. He told me that he preferred to compose in rare ragas since the great composers had already explored the more developed ragas in depth and it was difficult to make a unique contribution in them. He was a great supporter of vivaadi ragas, as his many compositions will testify. I introduced him to two ragas he was unfamiliar with - Shadvithamargini and Vishnupriya (the creation of Sri Thanjavur Sankara Iyer) - and it is a testament to his composing flair that within less than a week, he called me with great excitement that his compositions in these ragas were complete! He was intimately associated with many musicians - Prof. T.R.Subramaniam was a particularly close friend. Several modern musicians including Raji Gopalakrishnan continue to propagate his compositions. He was very encouraging and supportive of younger musicians in particular.
He was immensely proud of his sons who are all working professionals and music rasikas in their own right. He was also very appreciative of the strong support throughout his life from his wife saying that it must be his good karma that resulted in his getting a practical, capable and good natured wife - since it needs a lot of patience to put up with a music "paithyam" who scarcely knows the time and is completely oblivious of the humdrum tasks of domestic life. A man of unfailing good humour and warm heartedness, his smile was never far away. I was greatly looking forward to renewing our association in Chennai next year but it was not destined to be. Our heart goes out to the bereaved family and the entire Carnatic music fraternity. Ramaraj Mama - you will be missed by us earthly souls, although you are probably blissfully at the feet of Goddess Sarasvati, creating another sublime creation in another new raga. Rest in Peace.
Ram Kaushik
Nashville, TN
Last edited by rrkaushik on 24 May 2009, 08:28, edited 1 time in total.
-
Sam Swaminathan
- Posts: 846
- Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 08:45