Balamurali turns 75

GUDIPOODI SRIHARI

An impressive function was organised to celebrate Balamurali's 75th birthday.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS Balamuralikrishna being felicitated for his contribution to classical music.

Managalampalli Balamuralikrishna, a musical legend in his lifetime and still going strong even after completing six decades of his singing career, celebrated his 75th birthday here recently at the Abid's Taj hotel.

A large number of friends from the music world besides family members and well wishers were present on the occasion.

The man who made this event most memorable was his childhood friend, colleague in profession and an eminent violinist and vocalists Neti Srirama Sarma.

Balamurali revealed at the function - "Myself and Neti Srirama Sarma were in the same class. But I left the school in three months, but Neti studied for two more years."

Neti and Balamurali learned Carnatic music from Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Panthulu, a role model for the creation of Sankara Sastry in Sankarabharanam, by K.Viswanath. Even the make-up given to Sankara Sastry's character was also that of Parupalli. Later Balamurali and Neti parted ways. Neti feels grateful to Balamurali for it was he who got the former's appointment in All India Radio.

Neti thought it fit to use this occasion to pay his respects to his friend, philosopher and guide Balamurali by organising the big event and felicitate him. The felicitations also carried a cash gift of Rs.75, 116/- to mark Balamurali's 75 years of age. A large number of musical lovers, member of various music sabhas attended the celebrations.

In a touching gesture, Balamurali presented Neti Srirama Sarma, with a chain which he has been wearing in all the concerts for the last 50 years.

Responding to the lavish praises showered on him by veterans like Malladi Chandrasekhara Sastry, Palagummi Viswanatham, Nookala Chinna Satyanarayana, Annavarapu Ramaswamy and others, Balamurali turned philosophical when he said that he was not a musician, but an instrument of God to convey music through him.

In Telugu, his sentence has a touch of poetic expression Bhagavanthudu nannu panikirani vanigaa kaaka, Sangeetha parikaraaniga niyoginchadu. "If anyone asks me I tell it wholeheartedly, that I don't know music. But music knows me. It is using me as an instrument," he explained.

"My strength is the blessings of great gurus. I had the occasion of rendering as a ten-year-old, before Adibhatla Narayanadas (Harikatha Pitamaha). He blessed me. But guru means only one guru, our Guru — Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Panthulu. He knows how to teach every individual student according to their aptitude," he remininsced.

Refreshing tillanas

Sangeetha Crescendo CXSCLD0027-Carnatic Classical Vocal-Tillanas-M. Balamurali Krishna- Rs.45.

THE TILLANA in the repertoire of Carnatic music occupies an endearing niche because of its joyous, vibrant rhythm that rejuvenates the spirit, and the musical appeal it exudes. This genre has evolved considerably with the passage of time, and the compositions of contemporary composers are no less in quality than those of the previous era. Balamurali Krishna, a composer of distinction, has sung in this album six of his tillanas with Annavarapu Ramaswami on the violin, Srimushnam Rajarao on the mridangam and T. H. Subashchandran on the ghatam. All six tillanas are set to the Adi talam. The first tillana named Jaya ragamalika, is a striking, brilliant effort, employing the shift in the modal tonic (sruti bedham) that brings into focus other melodies within the framework of the basic raga Kalyani. The Kadhanakuthoohalam, Brindavani, Dwijavanti and Kuntalavarali tillanas though often heard still permeate a refreshing fragrance. The Ragamalika tillana with a pleasing Amritavarshini prelude, and including other ragas Mohanam, Hindolam and Kanada in the mainstream of the composition is standing testimony to the vidwan's creative excellence.

Master of all musical trades

RANJANI GOVIND

Balamurali Krishna reminisces his achievements and elucidates his beliefs about the creation of ragas and talas and the riches of South Indian music

PHOTO: BHAGYA PRAKASH K.
 

Do you know how the celebrated vocalist got the prefix Bala to his name Murali Krishna? As a five-year-old, he had presented his first public concert and stunned his neighbourhood in Sankaraguptam, Andhra Pradesh. At 14, he had composed works in all the 72 melakarta ragas of Carnatic music. Distinguished Harikatha performer Musunuri Satyanarayana prefixed `Bala' to his name in the presence of noted musicians in 1935.

Endowed with immense creative skills, the prodigy took to violin, viola, kanjira, veena and mridanga in a magical way, even without formal training. As years rolled by, the world of Carnatic music got richer with the maestro presenting ragas and kritis of saint composers in his inimitable neo-classical style. The amazing hardiness of his prolific seven decades of musical service explains the creative genius in him who has penned around 400 musical compositions that include varnas, kritis and tillanas. He has shaped and fashioned several ragas and talas that are groundbreaking in their grammar and content. The maestro with a musical lineage was the first ever musician to be honoured by All India Radio's `Top Grade' in seven performance areas. Padma Vibhushan Mangalampalli Balamurali Krishna is one of the few musicians to win National Awards for classical music, music direction in films and film playback singing!

Friday Review caught up with the septuagenarian who fondly reminisced his achievements and elucidated his fervent beliefs in aspects as creating ragas and talas and the riches rooted in South Indian music. The maestro was in the city for participating in Advaita Foundation's Dasara Music and Dance Festival.

You are the Jack-of-all-musical-trades and master of all?

I enjoy every branch of music, vocal and instrumental, composing and fitting them up in timed-paces, i.e., talas. The tougher, the better, the more intricate it is, the more joyous it seems to be. I took to violin, viola, khanjira, veena and mridanga as fish to water. It was all God's grace. There was no teacher to guide me. I can't even recollect how it all happened. For film music one needs a different mind-set. Your sensibilities have to switch with every aspect of creativity. It has to be natural and none of this can be cultivated. I enjoy being a classical performer, composer, playback singer, lyricist and music director. But there are no compromises, nothing but numero uno in every role. Basically being a vocalist helps one be a good instrumentalist and it is vocal knowledge that can open up a musician's mind to fine gradations of musicality. If an instrumentalist is not a vocalist, he is still considered incomplete.

Rewards and controversies, your creations have seen it all...

I have said this for years, I reiterate for the benefit of young growing minds in music. When I created ragas of three or four notes, the traditionalists were upset as ragas were known to have a minimum of five notes. I protested, as I knew that even the first Veda had three notes and only with the emergence of Sama Veda were there five notes, then it gradually developed into seven and 12. Music is born out of the Vedas. Ragas are scales that take across a script in a musical form. Why do we have to follow rules in creativity? Are we taking part in competitions that have rules for participation? Ingenuity can get stifled in a regulated atmosphere. As long as you put across your idea in a scholarly form, nothing should seem wrong. I have never been theoretical; I demonstrate my creations practically to make people understand and enjoy my new finds. Anyway, the response to my ragas like Mahati, Ganapati, Trishakti, Pushkar Godavari, Siddhi, Sumukham, Rohini, Manorama, Vallabhi and Lavangi has been overwhelming. Finally it's this state of ananda that translates my effort. But criticism is the best food for growth. I welcome a critic as I can explain my stance better and make a complainer also enjoy my discovery!

Good moments with your raga and sahitya creations...

Well, every stage has been exciting... When the Tamil movie Apoorva Raagangal was released, I ran into M.S. Vishwanathan in AIR who was setting music for the movie. As the story revolved around strange relationships, the music director wanted to introduce new ragas to go with the ambient theme. I offered my `Mahati' scale and the Records created then are history now.

My first concert in Bangalore was in Gayana Samaj in 1952. And I am delighted that during the Samaja's centenary celebrations too I penned a few lines on stage. The respectable institution deserves every bit of good from musicians who have benefited from it.

My simple varna `Amma Anandadayini" in Gambheeranattai was received well for its simple sahitya which stresses on akaara, ukaara and makaara in describing the Shakti. Similarly the gathi stress in my Tillanas has made them popular both in the music and dance platforms worldwide.

Your calculations in muktayis are unusual...

God knows, I am so poor in maths. When I listen to my recordings later, I feel so elated because I don't know how I get them on stage. Many ask me why I like teasing my accompanists with my computations. It beats me! Even the new tala system that I created was in a jiffy. The variations of tala depend on laghu, not on dritham. I have brought variations in Sashyabda kriyas with no difference in Nishabda kriyas. Of course, it needs total commitment and it is not meant for beginners.

You always say Carnatic system is the best. Even your student Ajoy Chakraborty has created learners' lessons in Hindustani.

Yes, Ajoy has understood the fact that our music has the strongest foundation with the richest raga-scale resource. Where can you find 72 melakarta ragas and a myriad of its derivatives? Hindustani has 16 melakartas, China and Japan have two major scales and Western about six to eight. Isn't it palpable to know how sumptuous our music is? By the way, there is nothing called `Carnatic' music. It is South Indian music. Even in books dated as early as the Sangeetha Ratnakara there is no mention of Carnatic music. "Karnaha Atati, Iti Karnaataha" goes the saying, which means, any music that pleases the ear is Karnatic music. So, every music sung with passion and devotion is mellifluous, and so is Karnatic!

Glory for the genius

GARIMELLA SUBRAMANIAM

The French honour conferred on Balamuralikrishna underscores the international recognition of Carnatic music as a distinct genre.

MULTIFACETED VIRTUOSO: M. Balamuralikrishna.

This is yet another first for the multifaceted virtuoso Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, and the first ever for an Indian musician.

The French honour Chevalier des Arts et Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) conferred on Balamurali on Monday last is an international recognition of his all round contribution to Indian classical music.

Fifth in the line of direct disciples of Thyagaraja, Balamurali has created many new ragas and composed over 400 kritis, varnams, javalis and Tillanas.

He completed compositions in the 72 foundational melakarta ragas, which were published when the maestro was barely 17.

For over six decades, Balamurali has mesmerised audiences with a deep and resonant voice that traverses all the three octaves with utmost ease.

His other accomplishments as a playback singer, music director and ability to play the violin, mridangam and the ganjira are evidence that every single department of music bears his indelible imprint.

Many of these attributes are widely known. But Balamurali's innate capacity to absorb the facets of foreign cultures and transmit the same through his music is indeed rare. The Kedaram song ``Kannula panduga Russia, ita kanaradendu eersha" comes to mind.

Written in the solitude of a Russian hotel way back in the 1980s, the charanam describes the absence of poverty and the principle of `to each according to his needs' in practice in the erstwhile USSR — `yevari joli varidi ita joliki pani ledu.'

The French honour accorded to Balamuralikrishna by the country's Minister of Culture and Communication, Renaud Donnedieu de Vabres, underscores the global recognition of Carnatic music as a distinct genre.

Gone are the days when Thyagaraja's paeans to Rama were looked upon as yet another ethnic art form from the oriental world.

Patronage of Carnatic music in the West has undergone a qualitative shift in the sense that its formidable melodic scales are now accorded the status of a distinct academic discipline of study.

The reception in France in particular, over the past two decades, is especially noteworthy. Suffice it to recall L. Subramanyam's `ontology of Carnatic music' on Radio France (available on four CDs) and ongoing collaborations with chitravina maestro N. Ravikiran and vocalist T. M. Krishna among others.

Bridging the divide

Despite being schooled in different traditions, Balamuralikrishna and Ajoy Chakrabarty complement each other perfectly

M. Balamuralikrishna and Ajoy Chakrabarty will perform on <15,0m,,0>November 17

Jugalbandis are not new to Chennai. The city has heard Hindustani jugalbandis too with a young Ravi Shankar's sitar and Ali Akbar Khan's sarod, as also Vilayat Khan's sitar and Imrat Khan's surbahar. The Carnatic-Hindustani combination too has had a long innings here, in vocal as well as instrumental blends.

For Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, singing with a Hindustani ustad or pandit is nothing new. He has performed with giants such as Bhimsen Joshi and won applause from the audience and acclaim from his co-artistes. He explains that he has had more fan letters from North India than from the South.

SHOWER OF MELODY Balamuralikrishna and Ajoy Chakrabarty

But his jugalbandi at <15,0m,,0>The Hindu November Fest promises a different kind of experience. Not only because he is teamed with a Hindustani vocalist known for his mellifluous style, but also because that vocalist happens to be his disciple in Carnatic music. Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty, a frequent visitor to Chennai, Carnatic doyen for some years now, and even hopes to offer a full fledged Carnatic recital. If he succeeds, he will be the first Hindustani musician to do so.

For, though many Carnatic musicians have mastered the north Indian genre, no Hindustani counterpart has so far gone beyond a light take off on a "Nada tanumanisam" or a fluffy "Sogasuga". This time, the illustrious guru and the renowned sishya will contrast and complement each other by singing in their own genres. Listeners expect that they will also sing Carnatic compositions together.

Ajoy Chakrabarty

Three factors contribute to Balamuralikrishna's charisma. A voice totally aligned with the sruti in three octaves, perfect diction, and phenomenal skills in voice modulation. Born to a flautist father and veena-artiste mother, the child prodigy vocalist showed astonishing skills on several instruments. On occasion, he even recorded his singing with his own viola and mridangam accompaniments. He is the only Indian musician to be accorded the top grade in seven performance categories. Innovative, at times iconoclastic, but always with a complete grasp of tradition, Balamuralikrishna ranks among significant contemporary Carnatic composers.

He is credited with inventing new ragas and talas. He also won national awards for playback singing and music direction in films.

Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty too revealed early musical gifts. In fact, he could sing before he could talk. His first lessons came from Pandit Gnan Prakash Ghosh. Later he trained under Munavvar Ali Khan, son and disciple of the legendary Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Today, Chakrabarty is recognised as a frontline exponent of the rich and highly emotive Patiala gharana.

He has performed with leading accompanists and in prestigious venues across the world. His knowledge of theory adds to his musicianship. Chakrabarty has extended his appeal with his sizeable repertoire of lighter forms such as the thumri and bhajan, and with his penchant for Bengali songs.

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`Voice culture is part of our tradition'

What made Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty start learning Carnatic music from you?

He developed an interest in Carnatic music after listening to me. He has been learning for seven years now, and sings our music with understanding. He can render our gamakas and brikas. He knows my compositions too — kritis, varnams and tillanas.

You've been singing jugalbandis for 20 years. What is your approach to it?

There is hardly any preparation or rehearsal. Often I meet my co-artiste for the first time on the stage. But when we sing, it is as if we have been singing together for a long time. We enjoy freedom without competition. Of course, success depends on the ability of the artistes. With the 72 melakarta scheme, the Carnatic musician has an extraordinarily strong base. He can sing any music, or with any music.

Doesn't Hindustani music score in voice culture though?

Voice culture is very much part of our tradition. But we ignore it. If a Carnatic musician sings in perfect sruti, our people are capable of dismissing it as light music!

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`Knowing both genres helps'

Are you planning anything special for this festival?

In raga music nothing can be planned because it's never the same thing. Even when you sing the same raga twice — in different places or time, it sounds entirely different. How it takes shape depends on the ambience, audience, organisers, and our own mood that day. Both of us believe that we don't sing Carnatic or Hindustani music. We sing Indian music, together.

But we cannot dismiss the differences between the two genres...

At one point of time it was one. Both systems are based on ragas. The principle of improvisation is the same. There are some differences in the talas, even more in the gamakas. But the use of sruti is the same. Carnatic means that which pleases the karna or ear. Hindustani music does the same thing.

But a jugalbandi shows the differences too...

Normally, a jugalbandi becomes a war between two styles, two musicians. But take Hamsadhvani or Malkauns — you can't change the scales, can you? We keep in mind the unity in diversity, which is at the heart of all Indian music.

Panditji, why did you start learning Carnatic?

I realised that to understand Indian music truly, you have to know both Hindustani and Carnatic. Few Indian musicians have learnt both. North Indian musicians have not paid respect to south Indian music, at least, not by learning it. A problem of attitude. I started late, but I have been doing my best. Balamuraliji too believes fully in the essential oneness of Indian music.

Is it possible to sing both?

Yes. I can sing many kinds of music, including film songs. In my institute Srutinandan, I train my students not just to sing or to listen to music. I teach them to see music with an inner eye. If you have this vision, you can sing any music. Easily.

GOWRI RAMNARAYAN