A select group of people from all walks of life were provided a musical treat in the form of legendary classical performing artiste Dr.M.Balamuralikrishna,on Saturday evening at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.
President Pranab Mukherjee graced the event, which lasted for a little over an hour.
During the performance, a frail Dr. Balamuralikrishna sang six classical songs, including Vande Mataram, Omakarakarini Lavangi Raaga set to Adi Tal,Robindro Sangeet,Prayang Raya Das in Raaga Sindhur Bhairavi and a Thillana in Raaga Brindavani.
He left the audience spellbound with his various compositions. He was assisted by Muthu K. Krishna Kumar, R. Sridhar, Mannagudi N. Subramanium and P.S. Raja.
Dr. Balamuralikrishna is rightly regarded as the foremost exponent of South Indian classical music for over six decades now.
He was born at Sankaraguptam in Andhra Pradesh in 1930, and is endowed with the ability of being an accomplished instrumentalist in addition to being a vocalist.
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He plays the Violin, Viola, Ganjira, Veena and the Mridangam with equal ease. He has over 400 compositions to his credit including Varnams, Krithis, Javalis, Devotional Songs and Thillanas.
He is the fifth generation descendant in the Guru Shishya Parampara (Hierarchy of Disciples) of Saint Composer Thyagaraja.
A child prodigy, he became a versatile and popular composer by the age of fifteen. At the tender age of sixteen, he composed songs in all the seventy two Melakartha Ragas, considered the very foundation of our music.
He is the state musician of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Ashthana Vidwan of Sringeri Peetam and Tirumala Tirupathi Devasthanam. He is also an Executive Committee Member of the Kalakshetra Foundation, ICCR and Central Sangeeth Natak Academy.
He is the only South Indian artiste who, on invitation, sang Tagore's Robindro Sangeet in All India Radio to preserve it for posterity.
He has been the recipient of several awards including the Padma Shri and the Padma Vibhushan, Knights of the Order of Arts and Letters awarded by the French Government and the Gandhi Memorial Medal, UNESCO, amongst others.