M Balamuralikrishna

There are musicians who flow along the current of the wave that music is and there are those who create a change in the wave. One of India’s greatest vocalists, Mangalamapalli Balamuralikrishna was one of the latter. A native of Sankaraguptam from East Godavari, Balamuralikrishna was a 5th generation descendant of the saint-composer Thyagaraja in the guru-shishya tradition.

He was an Indian Carnatic vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer and actor. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour, for his contribution towards Indian Art. He was made Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005.

Early life

Balamurali Krishna was born in Sankaraguptam, East Godavari District, Andhra Pradesh state. His father was a well known musician and could play the flute, violin and the veena and his mother was an excellent veena player. His mother died when he was an infant and Balamuralikrishna was raised by his father. Observing his penchant for music, his father put him under the tutelage of Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu, a direct descendant of the shishya parampara of Tyagaraja.

Experimentation

Characteristics of Balamuralikrishna's musical journey have been his non-conformism, spirit of experimentation, and boundless creativity. Balamuralikrishna has experimented with the Carnatic music system by keeping its rich tradition untouched. Ragas such as Ganapathi, Sarvashri, Mahati, Lavangi etc. are credited to him. The ragas which he invented represent his quest for new frontiers. Ragas such as Lavangi are set to three or four notes in ascending and descending scale. Ragas such as Mahathi, Lavangi, Sidhdhi, Sumukham that he created have only four notes; while his other ragaa creations such as Sarva Sri, Omkaari, and Ganapathy have only three notes.

He also innovated in the tala (rhythm) system. He has incorporated "gati bhEdam"  in the "sashabda kriya". Actions that can produce sound/shabda in talas are called sashabda kriya and are a part of the existing Tala chain. New chains are possible, too. Saint Arunagirinaadhar used to inject such systems in his famous Thirupugazh, but only as Sandham, while Balamuralikrishna is known to be the pioneer in bringing such Sandhams into a logical rhythm, with Angam and definition. Trimukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptamukhi, and Navamukhi are the basic classifications in his New Tala System.

He gave his authorisation to S. Ram Bharati to found "Academy of Performing Arts and Research" in Switzerland. He also worked on music therapy. After his death, his family started a trust in his name ‘Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna Memorial Trust’ to honor and keep his legacy alive. He has authored a musical therapy research paper with Shreya Kappagantula regarding "The Effects of Musical Therapy on Mental Disorders"

Awards and Honours

Civilian honours

• Padma Shri (1971)
• Padma Bhushan
• Padma Vibhushan (1991)
• Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres from the Government of France (2005)

National Film Awards (India)

• Best Male Playback Singer for the Kannada musical movie Hamsageethe (1975)
• Best Music Direction for the Kannada film Madhvacharya (1986)

Kerala State Film Award

• Best singer for Swathi Thirunal (1987)
• Best Classical Music Singer for Gramam (2010)

Tamil Nadu State Film Award

• Tamil Nadu State Film Award for Best Male Playback singer for Pasanga (2009)

Other honours

• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1975)
• Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy (1978)
• Raja-Lakshmi Award in 1980 by Sri Raja-Lakshmi Foundation in Chennai
• Doctor of Letters from Shri Venkateshwara University (1981)
• Honorary PhD from Andhra University
• Doctor of Science from Andhra University
• Doctor of Letters from Andhra University
• Sangeetha Kalasikhamani by The Fine Arts Society, Chennai (1991)
• Mahatma Gandhi Silver Medal from UNESCO (1995)
• Natya Kalasikhamani The Fine Arts Society, Chennai (2001)
• Sangeetha Kalasarathy (2002)
• "Sangeetha Virinchi" title conferred by Sangeetha Bharathi music School, Auckland, New Zealand (2009)
• Lifetime Achievement Award by the Global Indian Music Academy Awards (2011)
• First Citizen Award from Vijayawada City
• "Wisdom Man of the Year" (1992)
• "Naada Maharishi" by the Nrityalaya Aesthetics Society (1996)

A documentary film, The Melody Man, was made on his life by the Government of India Films Division. The film was directed by National award winner Director Gul Bahar Singh.

• Telugu Book of Records honoured him for Telugu Legendary Personality in 2014 at Vijayawada

Death

Balamuralikrishna passed away at his residence in Chennai on 22 November 2016; he was 86. He died in deep sleep at around five in the evening, due to a cardiac arrest. He was cremated with full state honours at Besant Nagar Crematorium in Chennai the very next day. Thousands attended his funeral. He is survived by three daughters and three sons who are all Doctors. His wife, Smt. Annapurna, outlived him for three months, and died on 16 February 2017.

Though a clichéd usage, one can’t help but say that his death marks the end of an era in Indian classical music. His renditions stood out due to his drive for borderless creativity, his desire to entertain the audience and his inimitable, exemplary singing method. He did not stick to the rule books and always wanted to experiment with the skills he was bestowed with. And, thanks to him, we had the privilege to listen to a great number of musical gems in his voice.