Carnatic vocalist Balamuralikrishna, who died here on Tuesday, was also an accomplished violinist. He accompanied Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in Machilipatinam on one occasion, when the regular violinist failed to turn up. Balamuralikrishna learnt the instrument listening to his father play.
“Since my father was against my playing the violin, I created my own instrument using calendar rims. I summoned the courage and played his instrument when he was away. When he questioned me, I admitted to it and played Bhairavi ata thala varnam. My father was impressed and allowed me to play on,” he recalls in a biography, Sangita Perunkadal , penned by Ranimynthan.
Felicity with the violin came in handy when his voice changed in his teens. “Many wrote me off as a singer. I also refused to accept concerts as I could not do justice. I regretted not completing my education. For one-and-half years, I was a violinist, till my voice recovered,” he recalled. He also worked as a violinist for AIR in Vijayawada, before quitting and becoming the Principal of the Music College in Vijayawada. He also learnt the viola, mridangam and kanjeera.
Even before singing for AIR, in 1941 he performed at the Tyagaraja Aradhana in Thiruvaiyaru. He sat on the lap of Harikesanallur Muthaiah Bagavathar, who encouraged him to sing and the audience turned towards him. His voice so attracted Bangalore Nagarathinamma, that she gave him the slot fixed for her the next day. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar also gave up his time for him.
In 1963, after a bitter experience as the Principal of the Music College, he came to Chennai. Violinist Parur Sundaram Iyer and mridhangist Palani Subramania Pillai had been urging him already to shift his base to the city. Here, he joined AIR and pursued his career as a performing artist, later singing in Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu and Kannada films. In 1978, he was awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi of Music Academy, and was honoured later with the Padma Vibushan and the French honour of Chevalier des Arts et Letters (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters).
Balamuralikrishna was featured in Mile Sur Mera Tumhara, a song on national integration.
