'Balamurali scolded me saying, Who asked you for money? Let's record now'

‘Accompanying Balamuralikrishna on stage can be nerve-wracking as nobody knew or could guess how and what he would perform; he was such an expert that he could change everything within a second. He was a genius who could do anything with ragas and swaras.’

Ghatam exponent T H Subash Chandran recalls his association with the Carnatic great who passed into the ages on Monday.

T H Subash Chandran, well known ghatam and konnakol artist, had performed with legends like Yehudi Menuhin, Stephen Grappelli, Tony Williams, Max Roach, M S Subbulakshmi, Dr M Balamuralikrishna, Dr L Subramaniam, etc.

His association with Balamuralikrishna started so long ago that he does not remember when and where it all began.

The most acclaimed experiment of Subash Chandran, image, left, was to compose Sankara with Balamuralikrishna assimilating Carnatic, jazz and western musical streams. In a conversation with Shobha Warrier/Rediff.com, he recalls the legendary vocalist who passed into the ages on Tuesday.

‘It was so long ago that memories have faded and I cannot remember when I first met Balamuralikrishna and performed for him. I must have been in my early 20s, I think. But I knew him even as a child as my brother and even my guru had accompanied him on stage. As you know, he was a child prodigy and became an extremely well known Carnatic musician at a very young age itself. So, everybody was always in awe of him.

‘After my guru and my brother, I also got the opportunity to accompany him on stage. Several performances and several recordings happened and I consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to perform with a legend like him.

‘I was extremely nervous when I was to first perform with him on stage but he was so encouraging that after some time, I forgot with whom I was performing. So impressed was he with my performance that I got many more opportunities to accompany him on stage with the ghatam and also for his recordings. I think I must have worked with him in 40-45 of his CD recordings, right from HMV to Columbia. In fact, he was so encouraging of all young and upcoming artists. I have never seen him brush any artist aside just because he was a junior.

‘Accompanying him on stage can be nerve-wracking as nobody knew or could guess how and what he would perform; he was such an expert that he could change everything within a second. He was a genius who could do anything with ragas and swaras. I would say there was a lot of manodharmam in his performances. All his accompanying artists had to be so sharp on stage to follow his music.

‘I will narrate an incident which shows what a great man he was. Once I had to catch a night flight to America for some performances and in the evening, I had a recording with him. I asked him whether he could relieve me by 6 pm as I had to catch the night flight. He immediately agreed and saw to it that the recording got over by 4 so that I had enough time to get ready for the night flight.

‘I still remember once, after a recording for him, so happy was he with all the accompanying artists that he told the producer, “See that all the accompanying artists got double the salary.” He was a very kind-hearted and loving gentleman; always respecting the accompanying artists and encouraging young and upcoming musicians.

‘In 2001, after I composed Sankara, assimilating Carnatic, Jazz and western music, I thought if Balamurali could sing, it would be great. I asked him whether he would sing for me. Without even thinking, he said, “Why not?” I don’t call Sankara fusion; it was just music in its purity and he sang the Kalyani raga in it!

‘We recorded Sankara first. And before the recording, I told him, ‘Sir, I don’t have money to give you now…’ He scolded me saying, ‘Who asked you money? Let’s do the recording now.’ Such a magnanimous soul he was!

 ‘After Sankara was well appreciated, we performed it at the MusicAcademy which was sponsored by a Malaysian company. This time, I saw to it that he was paid very well. It was such a huge success that we performed in Malaysia and some other places later.

‘I consider Balamurali as my guru. In my career as a ghatam player, I have played for many artists including MS (Subbulakshmi) amma and Balamurali, and I consider it my good fortune that I could accompany such legends.’

Image: A file photograph of Carnatic music legend M Balamuralikrishna who passed away in Chennai on Tuesday. Photograph: PTI Photo.