Prodigiously talented musician (1930-2016)
Born on 6 July 1930 at Sankaraguptam in Andhra Pradesh, Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was a veteran Indian Carnatic vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer and actor.
A 5th generation descendant of the saint-composer Thyagaraja in the guru-shishya tradition, Balamurali, as he was popularly called, was a recipient of all three Padma awards — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. He also bagged national film awards for best playback singer for Hamsageeth and music direction for Madhvacharya. He also acted in some movies, including Bhakta Prahlada. Oru Naal Podhuma from the Sivaji-Ganesan starrer Thiruvilaiyadal, is still a popular number.
A non-conformist, with a distinctive style, he was imbibed with the spirit of experimentation and boundless creativity. A master of Carnatic and Hindustani vocal music, he composed several thillanas, kirtis and varnams. He revived old ragas like Narthak and Sunadavinodini, and created new ragas like Lavangi, Mahathi, Manorama, Murali, Omkari, Prathimadhyamavathi, Rohini, Saravashree, Sumukham, Sushma, Ganapathi, Siddhi and Pushkara Godvari.
He composed 25 new ragas with fewer than the five notes prescribed and countered purists with, “I respect that tradition has given us the grammar of music. But there should be freedom to interpret it. I don’t like not applying my own mind”.
Balamurali inherited his talent from his father, Pattabhiramayya, a well-known musician, who could play the flute, violin and the veena, and mother, Suryakanthamma, an excellent veena player, who died early. His father realised his son was only musically inclined and hence took him to Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu, a direct descendant of the shishya tradition of Thyagaraja, who gave him a thorough foundation in the Carnatic music fundamentals.
When just six-years-old, he started giving concerts and grew in stature as he combined sophisticated vocal skills and rhythmic patterns of classical music with the popular demand for entertainment value. The child prodigy had by the age of 15, mastered all the 72 melakartha ragas and composed related kritis. Hence the prefix ‘Bala’ to his actual name became a fixture, and was a constant reminder that he should never stop learning! Composing, to him for a concert or for films, just happened. “Often you hum and it gives you a sudden idea. There is technology of course, but sometimes it also comes out in a flow, and yet when you try to do the same thing again, you get something else”.
Having composed over 400 compositions in 31 Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil films, his defence to those who looked down on film music was that “I’ve never felt any genre is lesser or greater. The challenge with a film song is often greater. Unlike a concert or an album recording, one doesn’t have the luxury of time to evoke the mood of a raga. It has to make an immediate connect.”
Balamuralikrishna was a great votary of music therapy. He opined, “We have a history of looking at art as more than leisure. This applies to music too. Studies have shown how from the 19th week of pregnancy, a child in the womb can hear music. S/he connects with it even after birth. Music therapy has helped cure stuttering, and improved speech fluency in kids who are just 8-10 weeks old. It is also beneficial for people with neurological disorders and hypertension.”
In addition to performing more than 18,000 concerts around the world, Balamuralikrishna has released more than 250 cassettes (tapes) in India. He was always punctual for a concert, and once onstage, music used to flow like water.
There never was a dull moment at his concerts! Aged 86, he passed away on 22 November 2016, survived by his wife, four sons and two daughters.