M Balamuralikrishna, veteran Carnatic vocalist, instrumentalist and playback singer, passed away on Tuesday at his residence in Chennai. He was 86.
The maestro is a winner of all three Padma Awards – Padma Sri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. In 2005, he was conferred with the Chevalier Rank (Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Government.
Born in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh in 1930, Balamuralikrishna began his career as a Carnatic vocalist under the guidance of Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu, a direct descendant of the shishya parampara of Thiyagaraja. Alongside, he learned instruments like kanjira, mridangam, viola and violin.
Requests to honour him with the highest award in the country, Bharat Ratna, were made to the Government Of India many times. In 2005, on the occasion of him turning 75, chief minister of Tamil Nadu, J Jayalalithaa, said, “It is my firm conviction that Mr. Balamuralikrishna deserves no less than the Bharat Ratna. A day will come when we influence even the Centre and God willing when such a day comes, I will see to it that he is awarded Bharat Ratna…By conferring the award on him, “India will only be honouring herself.”
He retired from public performances in 2014, and stated that ‘the dignity of professional music concerts had deteriorated to a very low level and become commercial, communal and political.’
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During his career spanning around 80 years, Muralikrishna collaborated with exponents like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Kishori Amonkar. He made his film debut in 1957 through Sati Savitri as a playback singer. Through Bhaktha Prahlada (1967), he debuted as an actor. He played the role of Narada in the film. He won the national film award twice – Best Playback singer in 1976 for the song “Himadri Suthe Pahimam” (Hamsageethe), and Best Music Direction for the film Madhavacharya (1987).
Feature Image Credit: The Hindu