Dr.M. BalamuraliKrishna- Himadrisuthe, Na Jaane, Maa maa nee ni Nee dha ga
mani
I
was asked to write a short biographical sketch of Dr.M. Balamuralikrishna in
the last week of November 2016 urgently for a magazine within one hour and I managed this.
Himadrisuthe, Na Jaane, Maa maa nee ni Nee dha ga mani
Dr.M. Balamurali Krishna, I
would like to do only one thing with him and about him and that is to listen to
him sing.
However, unfortunately he is
no more with us in flesh and blood but the
vibration of his music still stirs our flesh and stills our mind into
meditative mood.
So, instead of listening only
to his singing with intense attention, which was almost my favorite routine for
many years at home through cassettes, in concerts and sometimes at his house, now
I am also forced to write about such a great musical soul albeit while listening
to his invigorating Bhairavi rendering.
I do not believe in doting
out chronological details of date of birth, place or other prosaic information
which mere googling or Wikipedia downloading can provide.
Prosaic presentation of his biographical sketch of Dr. M. Balamurlai
Krishna or merely sharing anecdotes would be doing great injustice to a person
who was unbothered about perturbing the addictive status quo traditionalists
and was a personification of uncompromising
originality with unwavering affinity to aesthetic sensitivity and unblemished voice
quality and all these without distorting
basic grammar; unbelievable creativity without deviating from musically perfect
formats; unfettered conviction in whatever he was rendering without ever
disturbing the laser sharp precision of scales and appropriate gammakas;
unimaginable panache and ease with which he executed everything and the unflinching
flamboyance in whatever he did without any unnecessary frills, be it his
dressing or composing or singing or folding the betel leaf.
His virtuosity was so interesting for listeners,
inspiring for many musicians, music lovers and learners and naturally
intimidating to some jealous critics.
How difficult is it to do a
critical review of multiple volumes of encyclopedia of music and all music
related aspects.
Till date no one has better
articulated than him in a program on voice culture specifically for classical
music several years back about the delicate, measured and harmonious balancing
of guttural and nasal tones to create perfect gammakas. It was a Door dharshan
program available in internet now.
He was so well versed in many
languages; his mastery of nuances was
not confined to music but in many languages too, he would give very nuanced and
nice replies to nail the novices.
Once when in the company
of T.T. Vasu sir, Dr. Srivatsa one young chap asked rather impertinently, ‘
Sir your raga alapana elaboration the purist say is not correct’. Dr .BMK
smiled and said,
“First I am not singing only for
those others who come to concerts to give opinions and listen.
Second I want you to know
the differences between both the denotations and connotations of the words:-‘
Purist, Traditionalists, Different schools of music, classicist, aesthetically
sensitive artists, people who perform art for art’s sake, those for whom art is
just a livelihood, those for whom it is a mere hobby, those who follow it
merely as critics, those who follow it as a desultory hobby, then most
importantly people for whom life is art and those for whom art is life – it is
the last category who perform with total intensity and intense totality.
Third this beginning of my
alapana to you and do you have time or are you willing to listen to me
elaborate further with all the other nuances”.
At this point that chap said,
‘Sorry sir, I do not know much about music in detail but was only trying to
find out why some say so’. BMK replied, “They and you come in point number ten
but you want to run away after third point”.
However it is
irresistible not to share some rare
anecdotes which may not find place in google or wikepedia, when I went to his
house with my mother the first thing he did was he stood up and said, “ Maami
neega first Ukarungo” [ madam you first take your seat please].
Then he asked me to come for
audition at Bharathidasan road.
Everything about him was
unique in all aspects.
I have never come across a greater all rounder in
music.
Everyone knows his various
avatars mostly as a great vocalist with a wonderful voice suited to and capable
of rendering many genres of music with the same ease and also he was equally a
good player of viola and miruthangam.
But many may not know that he
could play with ease any instrument and people who have been part of the movies
for which he rendered the songs and was the music director, mostly those of
G.V. Iyer in Kannada and Sanskrit be it the 1975 Hamsageethe or 1983 Adi
Shankara would vouch for that and know how he
used to tune almost all the instruments and also play and show the pieces to
played inspiring everyone.
Once in the 90s I called him
to invite him for some program, he said he is not free on that day as he has a
program at Music academy mini hall, I asked you have sir, he said yes you too
come. When he says you too come who would say no, I went and to my surprise
there was a Carnatic music concert in one of those antic big pianos played by a nun, it was Sister John
Dorai Chetty, it was in September 1986. I went and sat next to him. She was
playing ‘Jaga janani sukavani kalyani’ and then announced that she was blessed
to have her teacher being present and listening throughout, it was none other
than Dr. M. Balamurali Krishna.
His Jugal bandhis , his film
songs, his Bengali songs and his compositions in many languages are well known
and well documented.
His thillanas are a treat to rhythm loving ears; his
raga alapna rendering are titillating to the brain cells with resonance; his
knowledge based scrupulous perfectionism in rendering the words of the lyrics
in any language he rendered is something which many musicians must emulate; his
scales are crystal clear; his excellent voice enabled him to render kalpana
swaras imbued with melody, bhava and excellent and complex multiple rhythmic
patterns as well as varying tempos. When you dissect his concerts or songs into
micro details to critically analyze you will not find any missing note, even
the minutest anu swaraams will be clear at subatomic level;
When you prefer to enjoy his concerts and songs as
mega macro package then it seeps in your whole system and reverberates
throughout the day.
The
subtle nuances that Gamakas produced when he rendered them literally touch
certain nerve centers in a very aesthetic and hyper sensitive way and the
nectar of its sweetness make us swarm around like the irresistible bees.
His compositions are a wholesome package of
entertaining music, engaging ragas and enlightening lyrics.
Enlightening lyrics in the sense his compositions in
Thodi ‘Maa maa nee nee ni dha ga mani dha sa rig a dha’ is the only composition
where meaningful lyrics are woven around just the phonetic sound of the
swaras/notes.
He probably tried very early
in his career with Sa dha tha va padha in Shanmugapriya which was of course
meant as a swara akshra enabling kriti.
In one of his kritis he explains the word ‘BHARATHA’ the very word used to name our great country mean 'bha'
for bhakthi[dedication or devotion with sincerity ]- ra –for rakthi –emotional
content that is bhava of the soul [doing with passion] and tha for
thanmaythvam- aesthetc quality [ not a mere entertainment for pleasure but a
mode of artistic experience for peace and joy] . Bhakthi Rakthi Thanmaythvan ithi bharatham.
Na Jaane
(Hamir Kalyani)
While many
prefer labeling him as a great experimenter, exhibitor of talent I would like
to add he was basically more entrenched into the music of the spheres and
enthralled audiences at all levels.
Such great
musicians make you realize that music is mysterious and mystery is also
musical.
Music is mysterious because it touches the
chords of life through its multiple dimensions and the dynamics of its various dimensions.
The mystery of life is the
energy which operates through vibrations and music is made of vibrations of
sounds either with or without lyrics and if the spirit of
individual human being grasps or is in the grip of specific
frequencies of these vibrations then they stir deeper in the individual than
anything else.
Certain
individuals are privileged mediums through whom some sublime things or aspects
of life and hitherto unknown things are expressed to the world, these
individuals appeal to us so much at moments that they appear as the
personification of what they represent or achieve or discover.
Universe in its great wisdom throws up many
great souls to perform something extraordinary and these souls deserve all our
appreciation, understanding and emulation too.
He gave lot of importance to lyrics as he
felt that nothing is a mere prosaic lifeless word because every word is made of
the same ingredient as music i.e. sound and in addition impregnated with
meaning or meanings assigned etymologically or acquired through usage in
various contexts or appropriated through misuse.
So word
and music both express something through sound.
The word
Universe itself is known as ‘ekashya kaviyam’UNI+VERSE =single verse expressing
itself.
I would
like to end with a quote of Thomas Carlyle,
“Music should go right through you, leave some of itself inside you and take
some of you with it when it leaves. See deep enough and you see musically, the
heart of nature being everywhere music, if you can only reach it.”
Listen to
Dr. M. Balamurali krishna’s recordings and
read Guy Murchie’s book ‘Music of the spheres’ and your every cell will
be filled with music with intense conscious awareness that no toxic elements
can enter your cells.
