Chennai, Dec. 21 :    Chennai, Dec. 21:  It was the most 'precious moment' of her life for 15-year-old Rukma Jayaram. In an unheard of gesture in the sphere of classical music, Vincent Smith, the examiner from Trinity College of Music, London, shook hands with the piano prodigy after she appeared for her eighth and final grade examination at the Chennai Centre recently. 'Very rarely do I come across such brilliance,' Smith was quoted as saying. Rukma, a student of Good Shepherd Convent here, sat for the solo piano eighth grade examination in September. With 91 per cent marks, she ranked among the top five who took the test at various centres around the world. 'But since she was the youngest of the lot, the Trinity College ranked her first in the world,' says her mother, Preeta Mukherjee Jayaram. Rukma was awarded the prestigious 'Cicely Goshan Shield' for securing the highest mark in the grade five to eight category. Rukma was born in Calcutta in December 1986. She was two years old when her father, Ashok Jayaram, an employee of a UK-base multinational, was transferred to Chennai. 'I have been learning the piano from the time I was three years old,' she says. Music has been flowing for long in her mother's family. Rukma's first teacher was her mother till she got a regular coach at the age of five. In one corner of their living room stands a 100-year-old piano, a precious legacy the family brought from their Calcutta home. 'My maternal grandfather, P.K. Mukherjee, brought this piano for my grandmother, Rooma Mukherjee,' says the teenager. Rukma's mother inherited the piano. 'My father being in the railways was transferred from place to place and I could not pursue music. But my daughter has exceeded all expectations,' says Preeta. The Trinity College award 'is totally God's grace'. The shield, on which Rukma will share honours with the likes of violin maestro L. Subramaniam, along with six other awards were presented at a function organised by Musee Musicals, the local representative of the Trinity College of Music. Smith's appraisal underlined Rukma's talent. 'Absolutely delightful; a fine exhibition of technique and musicianship, a lovely touch, excellent dynamic control,' the examiner wrote. 'You created a sensitive atmosphere; balance and texture were well judged, tempo fluctuations and your own use of 'rubato' (a technical term) were tasteful.' Rukma dedicated her award to her parents and to Rishi, her brother. She also acknowledged the encouragement of her friends, Sister Preeti, her school principal and two of her music teachers, Fauzia Marikar and Joan Suares. Marikar is a former principal of the Calcutta School of Music. Rukma is hooked to the period of Bach, Handel and Mozart, but talks like a veteran when asked who her favourite composer is. 'Every composer has his or her own style of music and each style is beautiful in its own way,' she says. One of the 'exam pieces' she played was Prelude and Allegro in A-Minor by Handel. Her mother narrates an interesting coincidence. Several years ago she had visited the German city of Bonn and was standing before the house in which Beethoven was born. 'I was so happy to see that on the plaque adorning the house of Beethoven, the composer's birthday was mentioned as 17th December, 1770.' Rukma was also born on a December 17.