S. R. Janakiraman

S. Rangasamy Janakiraman — known to generations of students and scholars as Professor SRJ — was one of India's most towering figures in Carnatic music: a vocalist of rare depth, a musicologist of extraordinary rigour, and a teacher whose generosity touched learners across the world. Born on 12 July 1928 in Lalgudi, Tamil Nadu, to Rangaswami Iyer and Gowri Ammal, he faced early hardship with quiet resilience. A bout of smallpox in childhood took the sight of one eye, and formal schooling did not begin until he was eleven. Neither setback dimmed the fire that was already burning inside him. His musical formation began in 1938 under Thanneerpalli Krishnamoorthy Iyer and Shaptharishi Iyer. The decisive turning point arrived in 1945, when Rukmini Devi Arundale — founder of Kalakshetra — recognised his exceptional gifts and brought him under the direct tutelage of the legendary Tiger Varadachariar. Within the gurukula tradition, Janakiraman absorbed the teachings of masters including Budalur Krishnamurthy Sastri, Musiri Subramanya Ayyar, T. Brinda, and Tiruppambaram Swaminatha Pillai. Scholars P. Sambamurthi and Balakrishna Ayya initiated him into the rigours of musicology. He would remember certain teachers — particularly Tiruppambaram Swaminathan Pillai — with such reverence that he would shed tears while rendering their ragas. After completing his studies at Kalakshetra, he taught music at Madanapalle before joining Sri Venkateswara College of Music in Tirupati, where he rose to become Head of the Department of Musicology. His scholarly home for decades was The Music Academy in Chennai, where he conducted research and shaped publications that continue to guide the field. He was a living embodiment of his own core conviction: "a musicologist must also be a musician." His lecture-demonstrations became the stuff of legend — a seamless weaving of ancient treatises, rare raga lore, mathematical svaraprastara patterns, and spontaneous bursts of singing that could stretch thirty to forty minutes without a pause. Despite his vision difficulties, he could recall compositions learned sixty or seventy years earlier with absolute clarity. He taught students online until his final days, making no distinction of hierarchy among those who came to learn. The honours that followed — Sangita Kala Acharya, Kalaimamani, Padma Shri, and the Fellowship of the Sangeet Natak Akademi — reflected not celebrity but quiet, sustained service. S. R. Janakiraman passed away in Chennai on 4 October 2026, aged 98, leaving behind an irreplaceable archive of scholarship, a tradition faithfully preserved, and the devotion of students across continents.