The celebrated Balamurali Krishna
Aditi Tandon

THERE is nothing about music that M. Balamurali Krishna does not know. About him it is said that he was born a perfect musician. How else can the world explain the phenomenon of a 14-year-old boy composing Raganga-Ravali, a detailed work on the 72 basic scales of music. A celebrated vaaggeyakaara (poet-composer), Balamurali Krishna has enriched the world of music with over 400 mesmerising compositions, each one a classic in its own right.

Even as a young boy, he could step into any celebrated concert and walk away with unending appreciation. Not only did Balamurali Krishna command respect as a singer, he also swayed the audiences with his absolutely magnificent presentations on the kanjira, flute, violin and mridangam.

Years later, Balamurali is a legend in his own right. With numerous credits like the Sangeet Kalanidhi and Padma Vibhushan to his name, he seeks nothing more. All he wants is to be remembered "not as a Carnatic musician or a playback singer who won the National Award for the very first film he sang in, but as a creator who can be compared with the renowned Thyagaraja and Tansen."

In Chandigarh recently to present the inaugural recital at the 33rd Bhaskar Rao Sangeet and Nritya Sammelan, Balamurali Krishna talked about his much-heard-of music therapy that has cured many from chronic diseases. Known to command the notes to the benefit of the ailing, Balamurali set out to develop his music therapy in a big way. He even opened up a grand performing arts institute in the West for this purpose. Unfortunately, however, the project had to be stalled due to the meagre availability of funds.

Unflustered by this debacle, Balamurali says, "This does not mean I will not use my research to save people. Music is a treasure that never ends. I will keep enhancing this treasure for the good of humankind. I am treating many people in distress. The only regret is that I cannot use music to cure people at a larger level."

It is strange, however, that not even one of his six children is pursuing music. Ask him why and he does not mince words to remark, "While music continues to retain its stature, there are meagre monetary returns in this field. I had planned to practise music therapy in India and abroad, but that could not be materialised due to dearth of funds. My children do not want to take up this line and I do not believe in influencing anyone into doing anything. They are the children of a modern world. They value money. That is why they are settled in professions that support them financially."

Coming back to his music therapy, Balamurali Krishna maintains, "There is sound and rhythm in everything around us. It’s because of this rhythm that you can understand what I say. Music is everywhere. Only the purpose to which it is put differs. It is like a current. Just like an electric current has its advantages and disadvantages, music also has dangerous as well as life-saving properties. Through my knowledge of music, I have simply sifted deleterious part of music so that only the life-giving elements remain. These elements are the foundation of my music therapy."

And what about classical music? What is it and how can it be defined? In Balamurali’s opinion, classical music is that form of music which stays in the hearts of people forever. "Music that gets erased from the soul is no music. Music that fills the heart, irrespective of boundaries of time and space, is classical music." About the present classical music scenario, he utters encouraging words: "Anything that is classical will stay forever. Anything that is not will perish. Also music should not be compartmentalised into Hindustani or Carnatic. There is no divide. Those who talk of this division are ignorant. Music is the same, only styles differ. "

This legendary musician, who has proved his mettle as music producer for many All Indian Radio programmes, says, "I know what I don’t know and I must always know what I cannot do. That is the only way I can create. I never listen to any other music seriously lest my mind should absorb it. That is how I maintain my purity."

Highly appreciative of the modern breed of music- makers, Balamurali declares he would like to sing a song composed by A.R. Rahman. "His music is for films. It is good. I feel the electronic media is bringing the world together. Now you take minutes to become famous. Given this, you should concentrate on creating quality music."

Balamurali now wants to save his creations for posterity. His disciple, Saraswati, is planning to record all his compositions in VCDs and DVDs.