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Legendary Carnatic musician and Padma Vibushan awardee Dr M Balamuralikrishna passes away

Music legend Dr Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna passed away in his residence in Chennai on Tuesday.

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Dr M Balamuralikrishna
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Veteran Carnatic music exponent M Balamurali Krishna, who enthralled music lovers for more than four decades, passed away in Chennai. The 86-year-old veteran was not keeping well for some time and breathed his last today at his residence here, his family sources told PTI. A highly respected figure in the field of music, Bala Murali Krishna featured in the popular national integration song "Miley Sur Mera Tumhara" in which he rendered Tamil lyrics. A crowd-puller in Carnatic music concerts, musician was also popular among Tamil audiences for his hit number "Oru Naal Pothuma" in the 1965 Sivaji Ganesan starrer "Thiruvilayadal", a mythological film.
He even starred in a number of films in Tamil and Telugu. Balamurali Krishna was a Padma Vibhushan recipient and was also honoured with a number of state awards. Leading lights of Carnatic music condoled his death

Excerpt from an Dr M Balamuralikrishna  interview with Yogesh Pawar from Feb 2016. 

You were conferred this year's Veerashrunghala award by the Keli festival. At your age you have been given almost all awards. Do you still get excited by them?

For an artiste, rasikas' love is everything. All awards and recognition are over and above. They are an extra bonus. I feel blessed and happy people express their love for me and my music with these awards. As an organisation, Keli has been doing good work to preserve, develop and propagate our classical cultural heritage. An award from them is hence special.

You were conferred India's second highest civilian honour the Padma Vibhushan 25 years ago. Many feel in your case the Bharat Ratna is long overdue.

It’s an honour that they think so. For me, music is everything. Whether the Padma Vibhushan, or the Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005, I've never hankered for awards. If you pursue music selflessly, recognition and awards follow. And even if they don't, it doesn't matter.

Read the full interview 

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