CHENNAI: July 6 is a special day. It is the birth day of Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, a name that Carnatic music world loves and respects. Born on July 6, 1930, Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna is a multi-faceted artiste. An artiste with a Midas touch, he is quite at ease in composing, writing, singing and directing. And, he is also an innovator. Not surprisingly, he has created several new ragas such as Mahati, Sumukham, Sarvasri, Prati Madhyamavati, Ganapathi and Siddhi. A versatile genius, he can sing in multiple languages such as Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi and French. Balamuralikrishna is also an expert in playing the violin, viola, veena, mridangam and kanjira. He has composed nearly 400 varnams, kritis, tillanas, jaavalis and bhakthi songs. He has composed songs using all the 72 melakartha ragas. As he step into a new year in his life, we at www.carnaticdarbar.com offer our pranams to the living legend of our time.

Yagnaraman Life-time Achievement Award: Only last week, Dr. Balamuralikrishna was conferred the ‘Yagnaraman Life-time Achievement Award,' instituted by Sri Krishna Gana Sabha. Accepting the honour, he said when his innovations in music came under flak, the Sabha gave him a platform to experiment his ideas. “Innovations and creativity are now being accepted. I am glad to witness the growth of today's music,” he added. Balamuralikrishna was given the award, comprising a gold medal and Rs.1 lakh, “in recognition of his monumental and incomparable service to the field of music.” The Sabha secretary, Mr. Y. Prabhu, said the singer was a child prodigy and composed songs in 72 melakarthas when he was only 16 years of age.

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