He was the man whose sheer genius transgressed the traditional casteist frames and prejudices to take Carnatic music to often uncharted realms. Neyyattinkara Vasudevan, who died at 68 on Tuesday, was cremated with state honours in Thiruvananthapuram.

Born to a poor Dalit labourer couple, young Vasudevan grew up in deep penury. But at a time when tradition kept Carnatic music an exclusive Brahminical preserve, Vasudevan became the first non-Brahmin to break the casteist glass ceiling to sing at the famed Navarathri Mandapam of the Travancore royal family. It is said that the queen, deeply impressed by his renditions she heard on radio, decided to break tradition and invite him to sing.

Vasudevan learnt his first music lessons from his labourer father Narayanan. After high school, Vasudevan honed his talent at the Swathi Tirunal Sangeetha Akademy in Thiruvananthapuram. His genius soon fetched him the discipleship of some of the greatest living masters of Carnatic music at the time—including Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Ramanad Krishnan.

Vasudevan taught at the RLV music college in Tripunithura for a few years before joining the All India Radio in 1974 as a ‘Grade A’ artiste. What set Vasudevan apart from many celebrated Carnatic vocalists was his awesome capacity to innovate and go way beyond the conventional in a genre so conservative; without damaging its hoary and pristine basics. Equally well known was his ability to sustain a seamless rapport with the accompanying artistes in a concert, and to keep the audience totally immersed in his renditions.

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