The genius turns 80
G.B.S.N.P. VARMA
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Balamuralikrishna honoured in his native village.
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Photo: V. Ganesan
Music legend Balamuralikrishna .
With Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, you get both sangeetam and sahityam. His is a kaleidoscope of a voice, drawing the listener into what Gaston Bachelard called the “felicitous space”. Some of the best musicians come from villages, and this one is no exception. Balamuralikrishna left his village of Sankarauptam in East Godavari district many years ago. On July 2, nearly 30 years later, he returned to this village to celebrate his 80th birthday.
In his long life, he shines like a multi-faceted gem. He is felicitous in composing, writing, singing and directing. He himself created several new ragas, including Mahati, Sumukham, Sarvasri, Prati Madhyamavati, Ganapathi and Siddhi. Being a singer in languages ranging from Telugu, Kannada and Tamil to Bengali, Marathi and French, he continues to enthral people all over the world.
Balamuralikrishna is also an expert in playing the violin, viola, veena, mridangam and kanjira. So far, he composed nearly 400 varnaalu, kritulu, tillanalu, jaavaleelu and bhakthi songs. Even in childhood, he composed songs using 72 melakartha ragas.
For a man of such versatile genius and fecundity in music, plans are afoot to honour him by installing a bronze statue, says V. Bhaskara Ram, vice-president of the Sri Tyagaraja Narayanadasa Seva Samithi, in association with Virinchi Charities and Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna Sangeeta Sabha.
The singer’s concert on the evening of July 3 in Sri Venkateswara Anam Kalakendram in Rajahmundry was no exception to his tradition of musical genius. The keertanas Amma Naa Janma Dhanyama, Endaro Mahanubhavulu and Nanu Kanna Talli conveyed the depth and range of sentiments.
The thillana was the highlight of the recital. In the ascent, his voice was majestic; in the descent, it was clear and crisp, despite the bouts of coughing in between the songs.
When the mangalam, composed by the artist himself, was being sung, the heavens opened up, as if in tribute.
Just as the downpour drenched the parched earth, his singing moistened the hearts of the audience. Balamuralikrishna was accompanied by K. Subramanya Sharma on the violin, M. Srirama Murthy on the mridangam, S. Hanumanatha Rao on the ghatam and K. Krishna Prakash on the kanjira.
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