Prez condoles passing away of Balamuralikrishna, Menon

President Pranab Mukherjee today condoled the passing away of carnatic music legend M Balamuralikrishna and acclaimed physicist Prof M G K Menon.
Calling Balamuralikrishna the "doyen of Carnatic music" and "a child prodigy", the President said he enthralled music lovers in the country and abroad with his "unparalleled talent and marvellous compositions in various languages like Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil for around seven decades".
"He was known for his non-conformism, spirit of experimentation and abundant creativity. He innovated the tala system and the carnatic music system without disturbing its rich tradition. He was also involved in extensive research into music therapy," he said in a condolence message to Balamuralikrishna's wife, Annapurna.

Balamuralikrishna was honoured by a grateful nation with numerous awards including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan, Mukherjee said, adding that "in his death, the nation has lost a genius, who left an indelible mark in the world of Indian music".
The 86-year-old legendary vocalist died yesterday in Chennai.
The President also wrote to Menon's wife, Indu Menon, and condoled his death.

"An acclaimed physicist and administrator, Prof Menon will be long remembered for his service to the nation in various capacities including as Minister of State for Science and Technology and Education, Member, Planning Commission, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha), President of Indian Statistical Institute, Director of TIFR, etc.

"Prof Menon distinguished himself through investigations in the field of cosmic rays and in particular on the high- energy interactions of elementary particles. He was a fellow of all the three science academies in India and President of each one of them. An asteroid 7564 Gokumenon was named in his honour in 2008," Mukherjee said.
Prof Menon played a prominent role in the development of science and technology in our country, he said.
"For his exemplary services to the nation, he was honoured with numerous awards including the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan. His demise is a great loss for our country and its scientific community," the President said.

88-year-old Menon breathed his last here yesterday.