|
 It
was the morning of October 17th, 2011 when Dr.
Balamurali Krishna arrived at my house. For those who do
not know him, he is a legendary musician and a
Padmabhushan awardee. He is a highly accomplished
singer, able to sing perfectly in three octaves, as well
as being renowned as a composer, poet, and
instrumentalist. Even in his younger days, he showed
promise of his musical dexterity. At the mere age of
fourteen, he composed a detailed work known as Raganga
Ravali on all 72 Melakartas (basic scales of Carnatic
music). Throughout his life, Balamurali Krishna has
composed over six hundred compositions.
When I picked him up at the airport, I did not fail to
notice his pale face and acute cough. And though it
seemed as if his lungs were about to pop, he managed to
keep a smiling face. At home we tried many remedies to
ease his throat but nothing appeared to work, and he
spent a difficult night. The next morning I took him to
see my personal physician. He would have back-to-back
concerts the coming weekend and I was eager to help him
get better. However, the doctor felt that he would have
to cancel his weekend concerts and give his throat more
time to heal.
But then, miracles began to happen. I took him to the
Parashakthi temple in Pontiac and the priests were
ecstatic and surprised to see this legend. Hardly anyone
was in the temple, that evening being a weekday. He
walked around the temple like a typical south Indian man
with his hands behind his back and talking about the
vibrations inside the temple sanctum. After a while, he
sat in front of Amma and invited me to sing with him.
Delighted as I was, I felt somewhat nervous at the
prospect of singing with such a widely known and
respected musician. But to my pleasant surprise, he
rendered Om Kara Karini in Lavangi, one of my favorite
compositions.
I sang with him, and I was spellbound as he easily
drifted through multiple octaves with amazing sangatis
with no sign of lung infection. This was followed by an
excellent composition “Amba Mamava Akhila Jagadamba
Mamava”. Just as effortlessly, he breezed through
Ranjani, Niranjani and Janaranjani as though his cough
had never existed. I knew this was a sign from the
goddess Herself. Needless to say, Amma made sure he
completed his weekend concerts with ease. |