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Hello,
Dr. Balamuralikrishna…
By T.M.Anantharaman |
I was pleasantly surprised when I got the legend
himself on the phone line immediately on Monday
evening when I rang him up. Several earlier attempts
to reach him had failed. I was trying since July
6 morning itself to wish him “many more happy
returns of the day.” He had reached another
major landmark in his eventful career when he turned
78 years old on July 6, 2008.
Yes, speaking to Dr Balamuralikrishna the legend
is in itself an electrifying experience. One would
think a man of his stature would play hard to get.
But, no. The legendary Carnatic musician and ‘vaageyakkara”
is at ease, simple and direct when he answers phone
calls.
“Hello” he said in his
deep, rich voice replying my phone call. I wanted
to make sure and said: “Am I speaking to Dr
Balamuralikrishna?” He said: "Yes”,
again in his husky voice. |
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I introduced myself and said I have
been trying to reach him since July 6 to greet him
on his birthday but had been told that he had gone
to Anantapur. Dr Balamurali confirmed that he had
just returned from Anantapur after spending a week
there.
To my question how was his visit, Dr Balamurali
replied: “Oh, I celebrated my birthday there.”
And, he casually added: “They have named an
auditorium after me. It is called Mangalampalli
Balamuralikrishna Auditorium. So, I spent a week
attending the festival in the auditorium.”
Did he give a concert during the festival at the
new auditorium? I asked. The veteran said: “I
don’t sing for my birthday celebrations.”
He noted that the festival lasted a week and there
were many cultural programmes. When I asked him
whether it would be a yearly festival, he said “music
concerts will be held every month here. In fact,
the sabha has been holding concerts for the last
50 years and I have given the inaugural concert
here 50 years ago.”
The name of the sabha? Dr Balamurali checked with
someone in his house and said, `` it is Sree Thyagaraja
Sangeetha Sabha”.
The Anantapur sabha indeed seems to have gone full
steam ahead. It started with a concert of this singer
prodigy and now it was honouring by naming an auditorium
after the same singer who has grown into a living
legend in Carnatic music.I thanked Dr Balamurali
and asked him to see the article www.carnaticdarbar.com
has carried as a tribute in his honour. Dr Balamurali
said, “I do not have a computer. I don’t
even have a mobile!"
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