Dr. MBK is no more

vsarmaiitm · Post by **vsarmaiitm** » 22 Nov 2016, 17:26

Just came to know that Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna is no more. It is sad day for music lovers. May his soul rest in peace.

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 22 Nov 2016, 17:50

Another great loss that to at the beginning of music season. Besides his musical knowledge from a very young age. his contribution to CM world is immense. My father was in tears, when I just informed him. For him Somu and MBK are two eyes. May his soul RIP. So many rasikas who love him so much -for them also, I feel sad for having missed a great legend.

MaheshS · Post by **MaheshS** » 22 Nov 2016, 17:55

Ohh no

I just downloaded his Akshayalingavibho and Meenakshimemudam restored from an old spool tape from Sangeethapriya.

What a legend. RIP.

semmu86 · Post by **semmu86** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:03

Another monumental loss. Condolences to friends, family, rasikas and disciples. Timeless music and a timeless legend!

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:06

Surely an incomparable legend in Carnatic music.
I heard this song more than 50 years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_50BS-nxjE

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:13

A legend indeed! Condolences to his family, friends, disciples and rasikas. Let us cherish his life and his profound contributions.

Pratyaksham Bala · Post by **Pratyaksham Bala** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:17

Sincere condolences.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:30

This is very sad news, especially as it was impossible to realise, when seeing him, that he could be 86 years old.

Condolences to all his friends, family and students. I can imagine that Prince Rama Varma will be heartbroken.

(He died today? Does anybody know what the arrangements are for paying last respects? Will have been over today itself?)

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 22 Nov 2016, 18:46

This is heart breaking news. What an unmatched genius. There can never be another like Dr M Balamuralikrishna.
A huge loss to the music world.

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:02

Who can forget how he sang Jagadanandakaraka?

Here's another rendition of the same by him, at a much slower pace:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpDr1mBR-4o

ravichitrapu · Post by **ravichitrapu** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:03

Very sad news and an immense loss to the Carnatic music world. Beyond words. It seems his last concert was at Rajahmundry at the Godavari Pushkarams. And looking at him in his concerts he never seemed old to go away so soon. Heartfelt condolences.
Though he had his own controversies, he was a genius and brilliant personality and IMHO richly deserved a Bharat Ratna.
The gods will now enjoy his music.

Ragjay · Post by **Ragjay** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:04

The Bishmapitha of Carnatic Music is no more.He breathed his last at 15.30 hrs in his residence at Chennai.
Shocking a true legend passes away.

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:06

Sincere condolences

shankarank · Post by **shankarank** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:19

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/C ... epage=true

A Colossus! Heard stories of how he used to get frustrated that his general fans could not appreciate Pallavi. On the other hand learned Rasikas truly gave him the spot even if some among them questioned his classicism.

Hopefully posterity convinces many doubters.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:36

Condolences to his family and disciples. May his soul RIP!

nadhasudha · Post by **nadhasudha** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:44

Heartfelt Condolences to his family and rasikas.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 22 Nov 2016, 19:50

Very sad to hear. May he attain ātmaśānti!

arasi · Post by **arasi** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:04

BMK, a phenomenon, over many many years.

His immense talent, creativity, music-making ability and charm of a voice delighted decade after decade of fans. Even in old age when you thought the voice was failing, it proved otherwise, by his suddenly getting into his old mode, sounding as sweet at times...

May his soul rest in peace. Condolences to his family and students.

aaaaabbbbb · Post by **aaaaabbbbb** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:06

Very sad to know about the passing away

of The Legend of our times.

May he join the ranks of MS Amma, Bhimsen Joshi jI.

and enthrall the Divines.

May his soul rest in peace.

vineyan · Post by **vineyan** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:08

CM has lost a colossus in the demise of MBK. He was a genius who can never be replaced

CRama · Post by **CRama** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:40

Heard many of his concerts and got immersed in the ocean of melody. One such concert is a Surya concert of early eightees where he sang a RTP in Revati. First time heard such an elaborate treatment of that rare raga of that time. Many many such instances.

He has left for the heaven to enthrall Gods there. May his soul rest in peace.

Sundara Rajan · Post by **Sundara Rajan** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:41

Shocking indeed, but it is a natural occurrence we all have to face one day. He appeared to be in good health, the last time he was seen among the audience in a recent concert.
Government of India failed to award him the Bharat Rathna award that he eminently deserved and he sought very much.
Hearty condolences to his family, friends and disciples.

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:50

Shocking and very sad. He is unquestionably my favourite artiste and I am extremely saddened.
Haven't heard a better musician, his voice, pronunciation, innovation, compositions and the list goes on.
I hope more and more musicians sing his compositions and honour him in decades to come..
Sincere condolences to his family and friends.
Kamalamba

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 22 Nov 2016, 20:56

What a loss! Sincere condolences to the entire music community.

Lakshman · Post by **Lakshman** » 22 Nov 2016, 21:01

Great loss for the CM community. Heard his first radio broadcast from Chennai vAnoli decades ago. RIP. Condolences to family, friends and disciples.

Nick H · Post by **Nick H** » 22 Nov 2016, 21:17

I played a tape snippet to my mridangam guruji once, asking, "what is BMK doing here?" My guru replied that he had put the whole raga into the first word of the song. I'm sure he must have often done stuff that was complex even to the real rasikas listening to him, but I know also that whatever he did, however complicated, the result was always beautiful.

drmnarmadha96 · Post by **drmnarmadha96** » 22 Nov 2016, 21:26

Dr.M. Narmadha.
Prayers for RIP.

DrBMK ji,MSG Guruji and TVG ji.The impeccable combination and the Evergreen Nagumomu.What an artistry and what an Amity.! Such Divine Music.
DrBMK and MSG Guru ji and My revered Grandfather Shri Parur ji were so close.DrBMK ji visited our home very often and my mom prepared fresh filter coffee.There used to be scintillating sessions on music at our Mylapore Home.DrBMKji was an extraordinary combination of versatility and chose to execute the toughest sangathi with effortless artistry.My beloved legendary father MSG Guru ji teamed up with him and every listener would look up for the combination.I will in my simple humble imagination put it that God brought these legendary artists to give us Amrit whose artistry was trendsetting,pioneering yet pleasing and connoisseurs drank the sweetness to their ears just like the amalgamation of sweetness in sugar .
Long live the legendary evergreen Amrit!
Sincere regards,
Narmadha

Music · Post by **Music** » 22 Nov 2016, 21:30

A genius who could appeal to lay people and experts alike....his golden voice, his impeccable pronunciation, his brilliant compositions, his innovation, versatility, his presence on stage, there can never be another musician like him. RIP.

Rsachi · Post by **Rsachi** » 22 Nov 2016, 21:30

Brilliant BMK Hariprasad Chaurasia Hindola on DD Bharati...

PUNARVASU · Post by **PUNARVASU** » 22 Nov 2016, 22:00

The Murali Ganam has ascended the sky
The golden chariot that came on the street
Rose higher and higher and has now
Reached the top.
The music is no longer for the lesser mortals
The Murali Ganam is now only for the Gods!

uday_shankar · Post by **uday_shankar** » 22 Nov 2016, 23:11

What a colossus...end of an era...lovely person. Enormous void.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 22 Nov 2016, 23:15

A tape of Sri BMK singing his tillAnAs, and one of Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman playing his has seen me through many an exam!

VK RAMAN · Post by **VK RAMAN** » 23 Nov 2016, 00:25

A loss to music world and He left a legacy that will never be forgotten. May His Soul Rest in Peace

balu3371 · Post by **balu3371** » 23 Nov 2016, 00:58

Shccking news. Our deepest condolences to the family of great maesto of carnatic music.
Balus

srini_pichumani · Post by **srini_pichumani** » 23 Nov 2016, 01:17

Ee naadamulu
ii sakala jagamu
lInamai dhvanintsunO
Aa naadamE muraLi

girish_a · Post by **girish_a** » 23 Nov 2016, 01:26

Teliyareru Rama

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_38uXrR6ms

msakella · Post by **msakella** » 23 Nov 2016, 08:45

A very great legend. Heartfelt condolences to the family, disciples and rasikas. amsharma

elektek · Post by **elektek** » 23 Nov 2016, 08:47

Sacred condolences.

shankarank · Post by **shankarank** » 23 Nov 2016, 09:58

rshankar wrote:A tape of Sri BMK singing his tillAnAs, and one of Lalgudi Sri Jayaraman playing his has seen me through many an exam!

I cannot resist adding : that hamIr kalyANi one of LGJ where his bow finishes on the second "dheem" (6th) at the start, then KRM's stroke (7th) and then the tAla kriYa (8th) all in sequence in the mEl kAla mAtras, illustrates how music exists in the crevices of time intervals!

Dr BMK in his own right is an epitome of a king of such time flow!!

sukumar · Post by **sukumar** » 23 Nov 2016, 12:38

I could listen to only a few of his live concerts... He would not sing Mangalam at the end ... with a smile would say he will come again and sing

Purist · Post by **Purist** » 23 Nov 2016, 13:05

The passing away of BMK, a one and only one kind , is a great loss to CM fraternity.
His music will live and enthral at all times. May the soul rest in eternal peace

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 23 Nov 2016, 13:25

Dr. Narmada's reply shows the amazing bondage among these three great legends !!. what an era of CM ? I happened to see IE coming out with some photos. The second one, I could see Dr.Narmada sitting behind Dr. BMK. Can Dr.Narmada explain that programme (event) ? where this photo was taken ?

http://indianexpress.com/photos/lifesty ... 4389956/3/

arvind.brahmakal · Post by **arvind.brahmakal** » 23 Nov 2016, 13:29

"Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna - you were the chosen one to accomplish a larger purpose".

Every person who came under his eternal music's influence will cherish memories differently. Personally, from the time I have been listening to music, there has consistently been a deep love for Dr BMK's music. It was his music on the one side and the rest of the music on the other side. More than 90% of the music i have listened to over time has been his music. I think this will only increase going forward till another "Yuga Purusha" is born. His music has always given me unbounded happiness.

Generations going forward will find it difficult to fathom the brilliance of this person - much the way we all are in awe of the Trinities' contribution. During one of my treasured conversations with the legend, he mentioned that he is just an instrument and Goddess Saraswathi plays this instrument at her will. In his passing away, I think she now has decided to take that instrument away so others elsewhere can experience happiness.
In his words "Music is life and Life is music"

Aum Shanti Shanti Shanti

kamalamba · Post by **kamalamba** » 23 Nov 2016, 14:27

One of my favourite and somewhat rare BMK kriti, that takes him to the level of Syama Sastri, in my opinion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE2gWUBZoVM

Much like Rshankar et al, this song and some others (GAna sudhA rasa, Pari pari nee, pAhi Prabhu GaNa, Ele pAlimpa, Sadhatava pAdha, OmkAra kAriNi, and his beautiful varNams ninnu nera nammiti, OmkAra praNava...) were my companion for months writing my thesis.

Please celebrate his life and works with this and other compositions.

KMH · Post by **KMH** » 23 Nov 2016, 17:49

Another huge chapter in our music has ended. Or has it? We will miss the man, but his music will regale us, and many generations to follow. I wonder if anyone has sustained such a high level of superlative output for so long, in any field of endeavour. What a great treasure he has left us! I am paying homage to him in the only way I can - by listening to his concerts one after the other.

grsastrigal · Post by **grsastrigal** » 23 Nov 2016, 18:07

Y G Mahendra recollected his memories abt BMK, wherein once the latter asked to give a programme in AIR. The topic was tEn KiNNam (in tamil). It was the programme of broadcasting cinema songs of his like. It was very famous those days in AIR. All the listeners were expecting classical based cinema songs or his own songs to come in line. But he compered the first song, which was "vAA vAAdhyAre vOOttandE".... a manOramA song. It was as chaste madras tamil song. For him, music is everywhere. As TMK said in his intereview to celebrate the legend who lived a happy life with his music.

I just passed at 2.45 PM via Music Academy. I could see the procession of BMK's mortal in a decorated van. With some cameras and a crowd of 20-30, It was just outside the Music Academy chennai road en route to Besant Nagar cremation place . Waiting at the signal, I thought of the legend who breathed music in his entire life and the Academy which also pours music in a way. .. scene which is difficult to digest !!!!

yours_truly · Post by **yours_truly** » 23 Nov 2016, 19:14

At a time when words like "great", "legend", and "maestro" are being used way too loosely, let's hope BMK is used as a benchmark!

Sivaramakrishnan · Post by **Sivaramakrishnan** » 24 Nov 2016, 07:45

yours_truly wrote:At a time when words like "great", "legend", and "maestro" are being used way too loosely, let's hope BMK is used as a benchmark!

Well said.
MBK is (why should I tell 'was'?) is truly a 'VISMAYAM' in the world of music.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 24 Nov 2016, 08:02

Condolences. His gramaphone record of Badrachala Ramadas kritis is one of my earliest memories of listening to CM perched on my thatha's lap in Calcutta. What a bewitching voice and such pathos in his singing.

srkris · Post by **srkris** » 24 Nov 2016, 17:43

Both obituary threads have been merged now.