As I entered Mela Raja Veedhi in Tanjavur, a stoic silence prevailed. I am never at a loss for words whenever I pass through the palace area reminiscing about great personalities and incidents connected with it. But that day, my heart was heavy as I was returning after paying my last respects to the great Harikatha exponent T.R. Kamala Murthy.

S Rajam always seemed to have a lot of time because he never wasted his time or that of others. Punctuality was a remarkable trait with him. During his spare time in All India Radio he would be reading reference books and jotting down notes in a diary—for a painting or for a musical drama he was planning to record.

Ours is a traditional musical family. My mother Tiruvarur P.R. Anandavalli hails from Tirukkannamangai village, and my father belongs to Madurai where he was a businessman. When I was barely 2-1/2 years old my father passed away. My maternal great grandfather, Ramdas Nainakkarar was a renowned nagaswara vidwan and he followed the Vaishnava culture and tradition as he played regularly at the Tirukkannamangai Perumal Temple.

I honestly cannot recall when and how I met Anandhi Ramachandran. I was a regular at Kalakshetra programmes and on happy terms with singer-nattuvanars Kamalarani, Bhagavatula Seetharama Sarma and the man I described as second to Nandi as far as dance was concerned, Karaikudi R. Krishnamurthy.