Legendary music Maestro Dr M Balamurali Krishna's concertt  at MIT organized by MITHAS on May 14th, 2006 was not only a rare treat but also gave a glimpse into the life of a man who had no formal education and yet rose to the pinnacle of success through his musical  brilliance and innate talent and creativity. In a musical journey spanning 75 years, ( he had just celebrated his 75th birthday) he composed innumerous Krittis, varnams and  compositions (over 400) and  created  several new musical scales. He also developed new ragas like mahati, sumukham, trisakthi, sarvashri, omkari, janasamodini, manorama, rohini, vallabhi, lavangi, pratimadhyamavathi, sushama, etc and earned himself the title of ‘Vaggyekara’ or the lyricist.
 
The evening started with a introduction by George Ruckert of MITHAS, a fine musician himself who welcomed the artists for the evening. The first music piece was Dikshitar's  Panchamatanga in Malahari raga in praise of Ganesha. It was a fitting start and was followed by Tyagaraja’s Nannu Kanna Talli in Simdhukannada raga, an appropriate one for Mother's day.

As Dr Saraswathi narrated some interesting facts on his life,  it was fascinating to listen and learn  how throughout his musical journey he earned more than 6 to 7 doctorates in music. Apart from being a vocalist, he is also accomplished on the kanjira, mridangam, viola and violin. In 1938, at the age of eight, during the Sadguru Arandhana Utsava, held at Vijayawada, Balamurali Krishna gave his first full- fledged performance. The story goes that at the Tyagaraja festival  his guru requested that a ½ hour be given to his disciple to perform but the great musicians present was so impressed by his ability that they will willing to sacrifice their own time to hear his voice. Somewhere in his 14th to 16th year , he composed 72 mela ragas  and was guided in this effort from his guru. His father entrusted Balamurali to 'Gayaka Sarvabhauma' Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu who he called ‘an affectionate and caring teacher’.
 
The evening was interspersed with more tidbits on his foray into films and his role as Narada in Bhakta Prahlad.  But Dr Sarawathi added,  although it was well received, all the 20 to 25 directors who approached him later wanted him to play a similar role. Balamurali Krishan declined, she said amidst laughter, also because Narada’s role had no place for a heroine.

Dr Balamurali spoke a few words by thanking everybody present saying he had a slight cold and lightheartedly remarked that although he travelled to Boston via Las Vegas  he had no time to try his luck at the place.

The other artists accompanying were H.Ramakrishnan on the Mridangam and Sri Vittal Ramamurthy on the violin. In rendering the Sree Rama Chitte, the piece saw a special innovation of the Konakol, where the Mridangist laid out the syllable in vocal percussion  and performed with a wide range of sounds. It was very enthralling to see the two accompanying artists perform with such energy and expertise.

Dr Balamurali Krishna later sang his own compositions 'Omkaara' in Raaga Lavangi . He ended with some of the audience favorites, 'Paluke Bangara Maya Na',  Tillana in RaagaMalika and the Mangalam 'Ramachandraya' where the audience joined in a chorus and later gave him a standing ovation.

Acclaimed for his “ wonderfully vibrant, widely ranging, magnetic voice” and his mastery of the three octaves, it is of credit to MITHAS, the organization  to be able to bring such top notch artists to New England for a appreciative and discerning audience and thereby enrich the cultural scene.

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