With a voice magnificently rich and instantly recognisable, Balamuralikrishna, who passed away here today at the age of 86, excelled not only as singer but left his imprint as a composer, poet, multi instrumentalist and innovator of ragas and taalas.
Born on July 6, 1930, at Sankaraguptham in East Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh to musician parents Suryakantahama and Pattabiramaiah, he took the musical plunge at the tender age of six and became a composer when he was just 15.
Reflecting his musical lineage, he once said that "music flows in my blood".
Balamuralikrishna also played various instruments like violin, veena and mridangam. He could also sing perfectly in three octaves. He has 400 compositions to his credit in his decades-long career.
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He made rich contribution to Indian classical music, especially sustained efforts towards resurrecting ragas which were not in vogue.
He featured in the popular national integration song "Miley Sur Mera Tumhara" in the '80s in which he sang Tamil lyrics.
Balamuralikrishna had carved a niche for himself in rendering the kirtana 'Nagumo'.
Though his native tongue was Telegu, he could sing effortlessly in many languages, including Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit, Malayalam and Hindi.
Hindustani music too was not out of bounds for this musical genius and his 'jugalbandis' with eminent exponents like Pt Bhimsen Joshi and Kishori Amonkar, Hariprasad Charasia, Pt Jasraj and Zakir Hussain drew wide acclaim.
Among his notable film forays was the song 'Oru Naal Pothuma' in Sivaji Ganesan-starrer "Thiruvilayadal". The song was sung for a musician character who considered himself the king of music and was brought down to earth by Lord Siva.
Balamuralikrishna did full justice to the song, with his voice bringing out the arrogance of the character.
Besides numerous cities and towns in India, he gave concerts worldwide, including in the US, the UK, France, leaving audiences spellbound.
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