VIKRAM MUTHANNA writes: A few days ago, I had been to Chennai on work. The journey from Mysore on the Chennai Express was long, stalling and an extremely cold one, thanks to unrelenting air conditioning.
The next day I returned in the more convenient, fast and comfortable Shatabdi Express.
I entered the chaotic Chennai Central station, got into the train and seated myself 20 minutes ahead of scheduled departure. When I stepped out to indulge in ‘people watching,’ I saw a small crowd approaching the train. People were bending down to touch someone’s feet and many standing with glass-eyed wonder usually reserved for godmen and politicians.
I immediately assumed it was some politician and sat expectantly to see him, but no one came in except a typical South Indian lungi-clad gentleman with a shiny watch and an elegant looking lady followed by a few well-dressed men. I assumed that the politician had moved to the other compartment and went to watch my movie between bouts of naps and Marie biscuits provided by the Railways.
Just before we reached Bangalore, I was suddenly woken up by the waiter who once again offered me another snack. As I was munching on my snack, I noticed more and more people waking up, and as they walked towards the wash area, all of them would look at a particular seat ahead of me and then on the way back, stop and talk to the person sitting in that seat or bend to touch his feet.
Now, I was intrigued and stood up for a mock stretch.
Then I saw the person and immediately recognised his face but could not recall his name. I knew he was a singer with a very different voice. I also knew from my friends that he was a fantastic poet and that I had seen him a million times in the famous national integration initiative song “Mile sur mera tumhara” music video.
No, it was not Bhimsen Joshi, not Hari Prasad Chourasia either.
And then it came to me: the person sitting ahead of me was the revered Carnatic vocalist, Dr M. Balamurali Krishna. I walked up to him and introduced myself, had a little chit chat and excused myself as I didn’t want to be too intrusive.
Soon he was heading towards the wash room and on his way back, stopped by to chat and then suggested I join him and his very elegant friend and manager, the famed dancer Dr Saraswathi.
From the very start, I realised Dr Balamurali Krishna had a sense of humour. When introducing Dr Saraswathi, he said: “This is Dr Saraswathi, my friend and manager. As you know Saraswathi’s veena can sing, so I am like her veena, wherever she directs me, I go and sing.”
After chatting about things in general, I finally asked him two questions that were niggling at the back of my mind: One, whether it was true that Bhimsen Joshi consumed considerable amounts of alcohol before performing?
I wanted to know this because of what my father [Star of Mysore founder and editor-in-chief K.B. Ganapathy] used to claim. That, when he lived in Pune, he used to deliver rum bottles to Bhimsen Joshi.
The reason my father was requested for the bottles was because he had access to cheap liquor from the army canteen. Back then I couldn’t quite believe it. Now, here was my chance to hear from a person who had performed many times with Joshi.
Balamurali smiled and said, “Yes, quite a considerable amount actually. But, back then, it did not affect his performance at all; in fact, maybe, it enhanced it”. Then he continued, “What is amritam, the nectar of gods? It is nothing but alcohol; in small amounts it is nectar and in large amounts poison”.
The mention of gods was the trigger for my second question. I asked him if he performed a lot in temples. He replied, “I like to sing, I don’t care where I sing. Moreover, I don’t sing for the gods, I sing for my people. I see god in people and mother nature.”
He then continued to talk at length about god and people’s obsession with religion and worship. I felt he was like a young child still lost in wonder at the things around him.
At one point he said, “Look at the inventors. Man made medicine, man made aeroplanes, man also made this train we are travelling in. Isn’t it so amazing that someone thought this was possible and made it happen? We should pray for the good of such people, people who make life better for others.”
Balamurali Krishna himself falls in that special category. He has brightened the lives of millions of people across the country—both music lovers and ordinary people. In fact, he himself is an inventor of ragas and an innovative musician.
I asked him if only he used his compositions or whether other people too used them in their performances too, to which he replied: “Others use it too, but it’s a little difficult to grasp. You need to have a sense of adventure, experimentation and an open mind to try new techniques. Otherwise it will be, as they say in Kannada, ‘ade raga, ade tala‘.”
Finally I found it appropriate to ask if he had seen the new “Mile sur mera tumhara” music video. He said he had not and asked me how it was. I said I didn’t like it half as much as the old one as it had an overload of movie stars and the music too was synthetic, which failed to bring out the sense of cultural diversity of our country.
He said: “Well, at least they tried something new. Maybe they can do a different song and a different music-video next year. There must be change. But it’s OK, may be next time they will do a better job,” and then added with a mischievous grin, “Hopefully, next time they can please you.”
No wonder he was the only legendary performer who said there was nothing wrong in fusion music and added “addition to tradition” is important and natural.
I asked him about his daily routine and if he practiced a lot. It seems he never practices. I asked about his younger days when he was a student. He said as a matter of fact: “My master would sing the raga once. Then I would sing along with him once and I was OK.”
I again asked him how he could remember a raga in just two attempts to which he, like a child, smiled and said, “I don’t know. I just remember”. Balamurali Krishna was a child prodigy who gave his first performance when he was just eight years old.
I was immediately reminded of the story of western classical composer and pianist Mozart who once arrives in Vienna, Italy Austria, to perform for the Emperor. When Mozart meets the emperor, Antonio Salieri, the renowned palace composer, presents Mozart with “March of Welcome” which he had toiled to create.
Mozart first displays a childish high-pitched laugh, then after hearing the march only once, he spontaneously ‘improves’ the piece with minimal effort, transforming Salieri’s composition into a grand piano piece.
As we alighted from the train, a few people who recognised him, came and took photographs with him, some diving right onto his feet. I asked him if it gets a bit too much, to which Dr Saraswathi replied that recently at a packed concert, some fans tried to slowly pluck some of his hair to keep as memorabilia.
I warned him to be wary of me for if I found out there was a market for his hair, I would pluck a handful.
Here is one more anecdote that Balamurali himself narrated. It seems that he had once been gifted with a new pair of footwear and had worn them for a concert in Chennai. He had left the slippers outside and after the concert, discovered his slippers missing.
Months later, he got a letter from a fan who confessed that he just wanted to have a memorabilia and so stole the slippers. The fan said that he would return the slippers and hoped that Balamurali would send some small item that he used.
For a man who is deep into an art form like Carnatic music known for its rigorous discipline and purity, he is refreshingly different. He is humorous and open-minded. He is like all great musical geniuses, a free spirit.
I was humbled by his humility and also glad that he wanted to meet me again. I told him I would be glad to meet him too, after all I still have to get my share of a clump of his hair.
(Vikram Muthanna is managing editor of Star of Mysore, where this piece first appeared)
Photographs: via Flickr, and Facebook
Also read: ‘If it sounds good to your ear, it’s Carnatic music’
“What is amritam, the nectar of gods? It is nothing but alcohol;”
Please show this to Mallya . Balamurali Krishna can well become UB ambassador.On the other hand the use of rum by even maestro P. Kalinga Rao is also known .
Vienna is in Austria, not Italy. And I am not really surprised he had trouble remembering Balamurali Krishna’s name.
But then having seen Vikram in school many years ago, he’s done well for himself. May he do well with SoM too!
dont you think the piece is a bit contrived? the author couldnot identify BMK at first but then goes on to give details of BMK’s life like he wa child prodigy etc.?
otherwise nice.
Vikram Muthanna seems to write like a typical north-Indian when he talks about Balamurali Krishna as a “typical South Indian lungi-clad gentleman”. Lungi and dhoti are different, at least in Chennai and Tamil Nadu.
Booze sits neatly next to creativity if you look at successes like Bhimsen Joshi (or even Balamurali), but what about the failures, whose lives fell around them like a pack of cards because of a weakness to imbibe?
I would guesstimate that there are more failures in the arts, culture and literature because of liquor than successes. Of course only teetotallers would blame the result on the liquid diet.
However, I am suitably intrigued by the author’s use of the word “elegant” twice to describe Dr Saraswathi. Surely churumuri could have unearthed a picture of the good lady to convince us it doesn’t allow writers to overuse adjectives without providing proof!
Only thing I remember about SoM is that it carried C P Scott’s stement of comment being free but fact being scared- without giving Scott ant credit? Wonder if that has changed!
Couldnt the author have been a decent Kannadiga and said ‘panche’ instead of ‘lungi’.
If this is anything like the editorial peices clearly the standard of English hasnt improved very much!
Prashanth-
K. L. Saigal and Mukul Komkali are just two examples of talents undone by alchoholism. Closer to home, there is the example of KaaLinga Rao and Raju.
A major money maker in Kannadanaadu is liquor. I believe Karnataka ranks sixth in the nation when it come to the incidence of alcoholism.
“Then I saw the person and immediately recognised his face but could not recall his name…”
Mmm…really? Author couldn’t recall Dr.Balamuralikrishna’s name? I wonder if ‘amritam’ played any role? smiles…
Also, just to let you know – ‘lungi’ is different from ‘dhoti’. I don’t think Balamurali was in ‘lungi’.
Clearly, there is some room for learning our local culture….
Alcohol within limit may help these singers. But then we lost talented father-son duo singers at young age, who were addicted to alcohol (mysuru ananthswamy and his son raju).
btw vikram has a long way to go, to achieve good writing skills and match the famous writers from the city.
i think this article is absolutely contrived …guess its all abt name dropping and more name dropping
Never met Balamuralikrishna, not once but have been thrilled by his jugalbandhi with Bhimsen Joshi; I often visit the YouTube site for that.
I have been briefly in Joshi’s presence – to touch his feet after he performed at the Homi Bhabha Opera House in Mumbai behind the NCPA. I avoid this practice, whether others try to touch my feet or when I am expected to touch somone else’s because man to man, they are equal. But After his concert, I realised the man was a rishi.
My daughter, who is averse to all this, had frowned at classical music but had attended the concert after lot of persuasion, nodded at my action – she had liked both the concert and my homage to a master.
Now, follow Rashid Khan, who, Bhimsen Joshi had once said, would carry his legacy forward.
This “managing editor” did not recognize Balamurali Krishna? How competent!
Vikram makes a mess of what could have been a very engaging account.
Sri Siddaganga seer would have been correct choice that would have respected the award bharataratna itself instead of B S Joshi. Entering the temples with the influence of liquor!! ridiculous. Shame on such singers.
Ashwath the recently disceased singer was known for copious consumption of amritam before concerts. Mysore Ananthaswamy and Raju Ananthaswamy’s stories are sad. I remember Raju (Satya) mentioning about Mysore Ananthaswamy’s reply to the doctors who asked him since how long he has been drinking. ‘Forty years of Drinking, Forty years of Smoking and Forty years of Singing’ was his reply.
The post appears imaginary and fictitious. It conveys nothing except the ignorance of a A journalist, who could not recall the name of Balamuruli Krishna, even after seeing him a million times on the TV! And he is recognized because of ‘Mile Sur….’… Sad indeed. Add to the grief, people do not know the difference between lungi, panche, dhoti, veshti, mundu etc. Sometime back even a person like Vishveshwara Bhat, Editor, Vijayakarnataka told on an occasion that Rajkumar always wore ‘lungi’. Sad…. Balamuruli is a 75 year old and a doyen in the field of Carnatic classical music. It is hard to accept that he would say ‘alchohol is nothing but nectar and give details of personal life of another legend (who is an elder to him) to a young journalist. Please avoid such useless posts.
@Anamika,
I know a septuagenarian from my hometown who presides over a chain of businesses – A hotel, kirana stores, petrol bunk to name just a few. His hotel though vegetarian is quite famous for its non-vegetarian additions (ofc inadvertently). Both his kirana stores and petrol bunk are notorious for improper weights and measures. Though the turnover of all his business ventures may be more than a few crores, I doubt if he has ever paid any income tax in his life. Oh, I forget..he also runs a hardware shop which doesn’t know that VAT has been implemented in this country for quite some time now.
Our man is a very pious man though. He has made innumerable pilgrimages to all the prominent holy places. Infact when we were kids, the local newspapers used to carry wishes from his relatives for his safe journey to Pandharpur, Tirupati, Kashi etc.
Our man is an absolute teetotaller, non-smoker and is vehemently against the ‘cinema’ culture. He holds forth on the morality with anyone who lends his/her ears.
I wonder when this guy and Bhimsen Joshi kick their respective buckets, what would the ‘Supreme judge’ do. I really don’t know. But I have this sneaky feeling that he would let mr. Joshi in and ask him to sing his favourite Abhangs.
When Bhimsen drinks fermented sugar in little quantities (rum in small quants is medicinal) it become amrita is what Balamurali Krishna said.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tdYY6lUw9g&hl=en_US&fs=1&border=1]
It truly is a pity that our greatest singer can no longer sing. Maybe if he could, Shrinivas Joshi, assuming he knows some Kannada, might get him to sing “Eechalamaradavva” or a few pieces of “Yendkudka” rathna.
Talk about Joshi’s dalliance with alcohol is old. Read his biography by Nadakarni.
No Bharatharathna for Siddhaganga Swami. He has built no pan-Indian, money making health and education outfits. I would hope the award would mean less than his kaayaka, but then doesn’t he sport the secular title “Dr.,? something that even obtuse Yediyurappa doesn’t?
its thrilling to read something which not only tells abt their impeccable talent but sthg more on how optimistic they feel about life and things in general.
Mr. Vikram Muthanna, why didn’t you ask Mr.
Balamuralikrishna about his alcohol consumption
activities?
The great legend, ahead of all the singers.
I don’t sing for the gods, I sing for my people. I see god in people and mother nature.” Nice words from this humble singer.
Balamuralikrishna is stll alive and singing. Let’s drink to that.
This is a dishonest piece of writing and rings false.The author does not know what tone to take and is ignorant of the most obvious things in South Indian life.
Stop these non-sense comments and realize his good qualities.