S R Janakiraman - The Dakshinamurthy to those who desired
The Tamil word 'vallal' is difficult to translate into English, though Google Translate tells us its equivalent is 'philanthropist'. Yet, it doesn't capture all the cultural history and nuance associated with that word in Tamil literature. Vallal is almost a state of being, a part of the person, where philanthropy is not done as today's millionaires. Instead, it is the nature of that person described as vallal. Which means that a vallal need not be rich in the traditional sense but rather rich in his heart. S R Janakiraman, who passed away on 4th September 2026, a doyen in the Carnatic field, was one such vallal. For he gave his knowledge freely to everyone, and he never kept anything hidden for a rainy day. For him, dispensing knowledge meant the grains in his granary grew rather than diminished. He gave so much that anyone could be his disciple. He was like Guru Dakshinamurthy if you were ready to be his disciple. Unfortunately, given my total lack of swara s...