Sri T.N. Bala is no more

[rasaali]

Friends,

With saddness, I am writing to inform you that Philadephia based musician and composer Sri TN Bala passed away on May 27. Having immigrated to the US in the 50's it would be fair to call him one of the torchbearers of Carnatic music in the USA. He had an illustrious career in broadcasting in India and the US.

A disciple of Sri MMI, he was deeply passionate about music and bhakti towards Lord Murugan. His name will remembered through his beautiful compositions, the most famous of which is "Vilayada Idu Nerama" (Shanmukhapriya).

I was blessed to know him and share some wonderful musical times with him. May his soul rest in peace.

Here is a link to some of his comopsitions, sung in his wonderfully fluid style

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0XLpYWRjE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRMqeTAXC4U
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lE4slP3s-zQ

KVS Vinay

[srikant1987]

Condolences to the bereaved.

viLayADa idu nEramA is a song I like since childhood.

Hope more of the legacy he left behind is enjoyed.

[venkatakailasam]

very sad to hear the news..many of his compositions..especially his composition vilayada idhu nerama was much sought out one....

his contribution to carnatic music will keep his memory alive...

[rajeshnat]

Very sad to hear the news.He was instrumental in inviting TS Balakrishna sastrigal to US for his tours, few of those collections are in circulation.

[PUNARVASU]

A great loss! His compositions on Lord Muruga are so beautiful!I think Lord Muruga was his ishta devata. Condolences to the bereaved family. I thought he lived in California.

[mahavishnu]

Sincere condolences.

[thanjavooran]

Very sad to hear the news. Condolences to the bereaved family.
Thanjavooran 29 05 2012

[cmlover]

As a pioneer, his demise is particularly a loss to CM in NA.
May his soul RIP.

[rshankar]

Condolences to his family and disciples! May his soul rest in peace.

[cienu]

Heartfelt Condolences

[maduraimini]

Sorry to hear about T.N.Bala. Condolences to family and sishyas.

[Ramasubramanian M.K]

As a friend of T.N. Bala for over 40 years I am saddened by his loss but in a way relieved that he was spared more agony. he lost his wife about 10 years back and since then he has been a shattered soul as she(Sushila) was atrue Sahdharmini--always stringing the Tambura. Bala was so passionate about teaching that he would drive all the way from Philadelphia to the new York area--he had legions of students. Sushila used to drive the 150 miles once a month on the week ends.--never accepted any remuneration or even a gift for his troubles--likewise hehad legions of fans/disciples in the NJ area. When the hindu temple in Flushing was in its infancy in the late Seventies, TNB got a group of us to sing--led by him Thiruppugazh songs that he tuned--we cut a disc and sold it the proceeds went to the Temple. We wanted to distribute on a wider scale but when we broached this with TNB he said (I do not know whether he was serious or not) that it may be a n infringement of copyright and unless some heirs of Arunagirinathar can give us a release we should not release it any further. TNB was a great disciple of MMI and also a good mridangist(in one of the Emani Sankara Sastry thread I have referred to an anecdote that involved me and TNB--when I did not know him at the time he made a facetious comment to Emani(whom I had accompanied on the Mridangam much to the chagrin of Nandikeswarar!!)-- in Tamil--"INDA ALAI ENGIRUNDU PIDICHEL"(Where did you get this bloke from--Could you not have done better--all within my earshot and since myself and my wife have been very close to him--unfortunately we could not visit him in Philly despite his repeated cals--he did not like phone calls but wanted us to visit him in person-- tragedy struck him again when one of his sons suffering from Cancer succumbed to it about 6 to 7 months back. He was a pioneer in introducing CM to the US audience in the late fifties--he ran a regular radio program of CM in the Delaware-Phila area for several years-- worked for ABC-- a top notch photographer--he was our photographer for all of our families events. he wasa greatcomposer--the Murugan Pancharathnams were real gems--launched in Chennai about 8 years ago during the season--attended by Musicians,Scholars,composers etc. he taught us some rare Dikshithar songs-like Narasimha Agacha(Mohanam)--was always willing to give without expecting any return--ofcourse the entire community loved him and he was honored at the Cleveland festival a couple of years ago.

His famous Shanmughapriya composition Vilayada was sung by Santhanam(MVS) in every concert --a humorous anecdote re; this as told to me by Bala himself.

It seems when TNB was in Chennai years ago in T'Nagar for a concert of MVS, he sang this song. In the Anupallavi MVS sang "Shalaithen Janmam eduthu kalaiithen"(I got tired of this rebirth) --the original composition was Shalaithen janmam Eduthu Ilaithen (I got weary and tired and lost weight with this birth). TNB was slightly miffed that MVS would alter the lyrics without TNB's permission--- although the substitution of kalaithen for Ilaithen was not atrocious by any means-- so he complained to MVS at the end of the concert as to why MVS changed the lyrics and substituted Kalaithen instead of Ilaithen. MVS said" Look at me !! If I say that I have slimmed(Ilaithen) will not people laugh and hence I changed the lyrics not to embarass myself!!!!

A great soul!! May his soul Rest in Peace!!

[tkb]

our condolences and prayers for his Soul to Rest in Peace!

[fuddyduddy]

He taught me for a few years when I first came to the US.. He (and his wife) gave a concert at my seemandham function in my house.. He was very instrumental in bringing up my aptitude for music.. His wife was a gem as well and the couple together treated everyone in the music group as part of their family.. In the last few months, he started doing research on Sufi music and had the pleasure of working with him in identifying the meaning of some old Urdu treasures. When I came to know about his death, wanted to go back to read his emails on his thoughts about music but dint have the courage to read it and remind myself that he is gone!
I dont think he wasted even a single minute, all dedicated towards music and spreading his knowledge.. Will surely miss him!

Usha

[svrfremont]

I really feel sad and I am sure we will sorely miss him. All the songs he has written, about 300 of them, are wonderful gems. Songs are just beautifully written. He was not only a composer but a wonderful singer and mridangam player. He was a student of the great Madurai Mani Iyer. His devotion to his guru was unwavering. One incident that comes to mind was this:
I used to visit him in a senior home when he was sick. One day I gave him Sri Madruai Mani Iyer's tape that was my dad's favorite. He was moved to tears and told me that he was there at that concert. In his words he said "En Appan" refering to his guru. Such was his unflinching love for his guru and music in general. He was a great human being. He had been through really tough times in the recent years.

Please visit his channel USATNBala on youtube and you can see his gems there. May your soul rest in peace mama.

We as rasikas can propagate his songs by asking our teachers to teach his songs to our kids. Buy his song book called "Mrurga Ratnaakaram". His views on any subject were just refreshing. Rest in peace.

Ramesh

[Rengarajan]

Condolences to his family and disciples! May his soul rest in peace.rshankar

Posts: 9259
Joined: 02 Feb 2010 16:56

[yeshprabhu]

This morning I was listening to Sri Ramakrishnan Murthy's rendition of the ati-madhura, manamohana Varnam, Ninnu kori, in Mohana Raga, in his melodious, sweet voice brimming with bhakthi, and his deep rooted reverence for Carnatic Music. Even though I have listened to his videos and cassettes dozens of times, I was still deeply moved and marvelled at his God given gift. As I listened to his singing of this immortal Varnam (Sri Ramnad Sreenivasa Iyengars' composition), I thought of my Sangeetha Acharya, Sri T N Bala. He was not fond of singing Varnams, and he never sang a Varnam in any of his concerts. Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri D K Jayaram never sang any Varnam at any of his concerts either, he used to say. I have learnt Carnatic vocal from T N Bala for nearly thirty years. Even though he was very fond of teaching the compositions of the Carnatic Trimurthys and Sri Paapanaasam Sivan's krithis to his students, he was not very keen, for some mysterious reason, on teaching Varnams. In fact he taught me just one Varnam, Evvari bodhana, in Abhogi raga, because he wanted me to start my Arangethra concert with a Varnam, to follow the format set by the late Sri Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar. He taught me some two hundred compositions over thirty years, I think, but he taught me only four of his compositions, because I am not fluent in Tamil, I suppose.

Almost all his compositions are in Tamil. But he taught me with great care his very rare composition in Sanskrit, Maha Ganapathim sadaa smaraami, in Pantuvarali raga. He was very happy that he wrote it in Pantuvarali raga, and had told me several times during my classes, that most of the compositions on Lord Ganesha were in the ragas Hamsadhwani, Nattai, Gowla, Saveri, and Malahari. His composition is the only composition on Ganesha, in Pantuvarali raga, he said. I have sung this krithi at all my concerts, the way Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam sang Balamama's Vilayada idu nerama, in Shanmukhapriya raga, at all his concerts.

Balamama had more than 200 students at one time, but most of them dropped out over the years. After his bypass surgery and related health problems, in the last few years of his life, he kept only a handful of students and let go of the rest. And as his health deteriorated further, and he drastically reduced the number of classes he gave, he told me that he will keep me as his student to the very end, and that I would be the last student he would let go. At the very end of his life, he had only two students: Dr Vatsala Holla of Scranton, Pennsylvania, and me, from Bushkill, Pennsylvania. And just three days before he passed away, he called me to ask me to visit him without delay, and sing five of his favorite compositions that I could sing: Sri Thyagaraja's Merusamana in Mayamalavagowla, and Upacharamulanu in Bhairavi raga, and Shree Deekshitar's Narasimha aagaccha in Mohana raga, and Divakara tanujam, in Yadululakambodhi raga, and Buddham aashrayami satatam in Nattakurinji raga. And, of course, I sang his Pantuvarali raga krithi on Ganapathi. When I left his house, I had a premonition that I would not be seeing him alive again. He passed away soon after that. Dr Holla, too, had called me asking me to visit him soon because she felt that he would not be with us much longer.

I used to drive, once a week, usually on Wednesday, more than a hundred miles one way (more than two hundred miles round trip, which took me five long hours because of the mountainous terrain where I live), from my house to his home in Havertown, Pennsylvania, for my lessons. This I did for thirty years. He reserved Wednesdays for my classes. He was very fond of telling his visitors and the people he knew, that Yeshwanth (me) drove even in severe blizzards and snowstorms when the highways were closed, to his home so as not to miss my classes. Then he would order me to not drive under severe weather conditions. He had cancelled the classes only twice in thirty years!

After a 1 1/2 hour class, his wife, Mrs Susheela Bala, would serve us dinner: Both Bala mama and she were very fond of Okra, Eggplant, Green bananas, Collard Greens and Chow chow, and Jumbo sized unsalted and unshelled peanuts which I brought with me from Food Town. It was during these dinners that he discussed with me various aspects of Carnatic Music, some of the vocalists he admired and learnt from, and some vocalists (their style of singing) he did not like, about politics, and current affairs, etc. During my classes, on rare occasions, he would take the perfectly tuned tambura from his wife, put it in his lap, and hug the tambura close to his chest, close his eyes, and begin to sing in Sri Madurai Mani's voice! And I felt as if the great vocalist reappeared on bhooloka, and sat in Balamama's living room, and began to sing Upacharamulanu! I can not describe in words what I felt then. He was obsessed with Shruti Shuddha, the way his guru was obsessed with Shruti Shuddha. The Late Sri Lalgudi Jayaraman has said that in Shruti Shuddha, Sri Madurai Mani Iyer and Sri M D Ramanathan were unbeatable.(A few other musicians and musicologists have said the same thing also.),

In the late 60's, 70's and early 80's, musicians, especially vocalists visiting from India, who had come to the USA on concert tours, often kept some time reserved on Weekdays, to visit Balamama. Some of them would then ask him to sing a few of his compositions. It was during one such visit that Sangeetha Kalanidhi Sri Maharajapuram Santhanam heard him sing the krithi Vilayada idu nerama, in Shanmukhapriya raga, and immediately asked Balamama to to teach that krithi to him. After he returned to Chennai, Sri Santhanam decided to sing that krithi at his concert. The response from the rasikas was so overwhelming that he decided to sing that krithi at all his concerts because rasikas kept sending him notes during his concerts asking him to sing that krithi. That's how Sri Santhanam made that krithi so very famous. Years later, Sri Santhanam told me in person that, based on the number of requests he gets from rasikas to sing that krithi, Balamama's krithi is one of the ten most popular krithis in Carnatic Music.

Even though it is nearly seven years since Balamama passed away, when I am alone driving in the hills and mountains and desolate woodlands of Pennsylvania, and I turn on the CD of my all time favourite of the recordings of his singing, his bhaava-laden singing of Bhairavi raga, using lavish gamakas, loud and full-throated, in slow tempo, with absolute shruti shuddha, which he sang at one of my classes, I feel overwhelmed and burst into tears. When I think of the vast knowledge of Carnatic Music he had, all the 72 Melakartha ragas he could sing and teach, the huge number of krithis he could teach, all the Kamalamba Navavarana krithis, all the Abhayamba Vibhakthi krithis, the Great Andal's Thiruppavai, Thiruppugazh, all the Navagriha krithis of Shree Deekshitar, his unique way of singing alapanas, and his Merusamana, I feel devastated. Gone. Everything he knew is gone. It all went with him. And I also think, often, of Balamama talking about his guru, Sangeetha Kalaanidhi Sri Madurai Mani Iyer, and occasionally bursting in tears while talking about him: He revered his beloved teacher; he had great Guru Bhakthi. It is at moments like this that I think deeply about the nature of human existence on this planet. It is so transitory, so ephemeral, like a bubble floating in the waters of a pond. So many great composers, vocalists, vaggeyakaras, musicians, and artists who once walked on this planet are all gone. When I am in this sort of pensive mood, I often console myself by remembering the great, immortal words from the Bhagavatha Purana: Idam ittham - that is the way it is.

Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

[Sachi_R]

Dear Sri. Yeshwanth Prabhu,
A very touching narrative.

We rarely get to hear about their teachers from students, who are mostly busy furthering their own name and fame.

Consider yourself greatly blessed that you had such a wonderful teacher who lit and passed on the torch to you. The best you can do in turn is to teach others and further the tradition. It seems you have settled in Mylapore just to do that. Hats off to you.

[rajeshnat]

YeshPrabhu
I am assuming you started searching this thread after I put a post in adithya prakash where i addressed you and said let that vidwan learn vilayada ithu nerama in shanmughapriya. I have personally heard 1 concert where santhanam sang this song vilayada ithu nerama in a live concert. I did not know then about the composer only after many years i knew that washington T N Bala is the vaggeyakkara after buying an audio cassette of santhanam. The bigger joy that i came to know is TN Bala is the disciple of the great MMI.

Just few more questions
----------------------
1. I have heard few recorded sangeetha upanyasams of brahmasri TS Balakrishna sastrigal . He has jovially told in his lovely style that TN Bala is the karanakartha for a US tour of TSBS. Any thoughts /recollections on TSBS-TNBala interactions.

2. IS there any connection from TN Bala with the late Swami Dayananda Saraswati of the Bho Sambo revati fame

3. We all would love to hear him singing in his own voice . You have mentioned that when Bala sir sang upacharamoolanu it was like madurai mani iyer singing in your lap. Not to challenge how great you must have felt about Bala SIr , to the best of my knowledge MMI has sung koluvai (which all know) and rarely ShriKamalambaya . MMI has not sung upacharamoolanu is my best guess. If i am wrong here I stand corrected (ATTN Vishnuramprasad)

4. Any recordings that you have where TN Bala is singing , please do share.

5. Any photos of TN Bala with his generation vidwans/vidushis is also welcome

I have few more , will stop with 5, Thank you for your lovely post.

Mods,
The last post is a great post and also up in the thread there is another post from MKR . Rename the thread as TN Bala and move it to vaggeyakkara

[ram1999]

@yeshprabhu
One word "BEAUTIFUL"

[yeshprabhu]

Dear Sri. Yeshwanth Prabhu,
A very touching narrative.

We rarely get to hear about their teachers from students, who are mostly busy furthering their own name and fame.

"Consider yourself greatly blessed that you had such a wonderful teacher who lit and passed on the torch to you. The best you can do in turn is to teach others and further the tradition. It seems you have settled in Mylapore just to do that. Hats off to you."

Hi Sachi_R,
Thank you very much for your comment. I have not moved from Bushkill and settled down in Chennai, yet. I would love to, though. I am only renting a one room flat in Mylapore, to enable me to attend concerts here. I spend about 6 months in Chennai, from the end of November to the end of March. My visa does not allow me to stay here longer than 6 months. Unlike in Bushkill, I have overwhelming choices here in deciding "Which concert should I attend today?" Only yesterday I attended a fantastic concert by Shertalai Dr Ranganatha Sharma at Vani Mahal, and today I attended grand concert by Ashwath Narayanan and a not so grand concert by Gayathri Venkataraghavan at Raga Sudha Hall. I make special effort to attend concerts by Junior and Sub-Junior vocalists (the 4.30 to 6.0 time slot), if only to encourage them.

[yeshprabhu]

YeshPrabhu
I am assuming you started searching this thread after I put a post in adithya prakash where i addressed you and said let that vidwan learn vilayada ithu nerama in shanmughapriya. I have personally heard 1 concert where santhanam sang this song vilayada ithu nerama in a live concert. I did not know then about the composer only after many years i knew that washington T N Bala is the vaggeyakkara after buying an audio cassette of santhanam. The bigger joy that i came to know is TN Bala is the disciple of the great MMI.

Just few more questions
----------------------
"1. I have heard few recorded sangeetha upanyasams of brahmasri TS Balakrishna sastrigal . He has jovially told in his lovely style that TN Bala is the karanakartha for a US tour of TSBS. Any thoughts /recollections on TSBS-TNBala interactions.

2. IS there any connection from TN Bala with the late Swami Dayananda Saraswati of the Bho Sambo revati fame

3. We all would love to hear him singing in his own voice . You have mentioned that when Bala sir sang upacharamoolanu it was like madurai mani iyer singing in your lap. Not to challenge how great you must have felt about Bala SIr , to the best of my knowledge MMI has sung koluvai (which all know) and rarely ShriKamalambaya . MMI has not sung upacharamoolanu is my best guess. If i am wrong here I stand corrected (ATTN Vishnuramprasad)

4. Any recordings that you have where TN Bala is singing , please do share.

5. Any photos of TN Bala with his generation vidwans/vidushis is also welcome

I have few more , will stop with 5, Thank you for your lovely post."

Hi Sri Rajeshnath,
Thank you very much for your comment. I think Brahmasri T S Balakrishna sastrigal visited US years before I met Balamama, and so I know very little about how Balamama organised his tour. Swami Sri Dayananda Saraswati had great respect for Balamama, and thought very highly of him and his music. Although Balamama never sang at the Ashram, he had visited it with his wife, and Swami Dayananda was quite familiar with his singing. He also knew that Balamama had taught a few of Swami Dayananda's compositions to his students. Even though Sri MMI did not sing Upacharamulanu in his concerts, he knew the krithi, and sang for Balamama several times, Balamama told me. In fact the version taught to me by Balamama was identical to the version Sri MMI used to sing. But MMI liked to sing Kamalambam bhajare in Kalyani raga much more than Upacharamulanu in Bhairavi. Yes, I have quite a few of Balamama's recordings, and four or five of his concerts also; but they are all in cassettes, and need to be recorded in a digital format. Next time I come to Chennai, I will bring them with me. Regards.
Yesh Prabhu, Mylapore, Chennai

[rajeshnat]

YeshPrabhu
You can remove few lines talking about next gen of TN Bala. Sorry they are in bad taste. You can delete the line from All those are....

Mods,
Rename the thread as TN Bala and move it to vaggeyakkara

[Sachi_R]

Sri. Yesh,
Don't push the river. Go with the flow. Six months in Chennai every year is a bonanza. Make the most of it.

As you pursue your guru's music, you will anyway be living in an alternative universe.

And we ALL spoilt for choices. I can listen to a concert or some great recorded music or some archived concert (a la Parvathi) every day and enjoy that music to my heart's content. I intend to listen to Amrutha Venkatesh's concert from y'day uploaded via Facebook by Shaale Live today perhaps

[sureshvv]

and a not so grand concert by Gayathri Venkataraghavan at Raga Sudha Hall.

You may be forcing my hand now to review this concert

[yeshprabhu]

and a not so grand concert by Gayathri Venkataraghavan at Raga Sudha Hall.

You may be forcing my hand now to review this concert

Hi sureshvv,

Mrs Gayathri Venkataraghavan had adopted an aggressive style of singing for most part of this concert, especially while singing Sri Deekshitar's Kamalamanohari Raga krithi, Kanchadalaayathaakshi. Deekshitar here is praising Goddess Tripura Sundari: Some delicacy is required while singing about the Goddess who exudes great Laavanya and heavenly beauty. After all, he was not singing about a brusque female truck driver. Many female vocalists sing Sri Deekshitar's Navavarana Krithi Kamalaambam bhajare in Kalyani raga, very gently and softly. Even Sangeetha Kalaanidhi Sri Madurai Mani Iyer has sung it gently. The same gentleness is required while singing this krithi. On YouTube there is a video of Sangeetha Kalanidhi Smt Sudha Raghunathan singing this krithi. (watch?v=yYfOX3ahZGI) She sang it with great delicacy, gently, and softly. A rasika sitting next to me at my right side was curious to know what I wrote in my notebook. So I showed it to him. He read it, and agreed with what wrote. I had written: "Aggressive singing, gentleness required. Too aggressive for my taste." But the gentleman sitting on my left side seemed to enjoy her singing thoroughly. Of course, this only shows that people observe and see and hear different things in a given concert, because they bring with them their own likes and dislikes. As they say, Loko bhinna ruchihi (People have different tastes). I left the hall while she was singing Koluvamare gada? Kodandapaani, Thyagaraja's Thodi raga krithi. A rasika was leaving, so I took the opportunity and followed him.

[sureshvv]

Mrs Gayathri Venkataraghavan had adopted an aggressive style of singing for most part of this concert,

You are just confusing energetic singing with aggression. The concert started well past 7.15pm and the extra energy helped to hold the audience attention. She sang a full alapana for Kamalamanohari, not commonly heard. The kriti itself was presented very well. May be you were just tired after having sat through another full concert prior to this one.