A “heartfelt tribute” a “respectful musical homage’ – call it by any name – the tribute concert presented in the memory of Sri Garimella Balakrishna Prasad, at the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan auditorium recently in Hyderabad, emphasized the deep respect and admiration that is carried in the hearts of all the musicians who performed and in the hearts of the audiences who turned out in large numbers as a mark of respect to Sri Balakrishna Prasad, who passed away suddenly few weeks back, leaving a huge void in the musical world which is difficult to be filled.
The concert was very befittingly titled ‘Daachuko Nee Paadaalaku” – the opening line of a sankirtana by Tallapaka Annamacharya. Sri Balakrishna Prasad so popularly known as ‘Apara Annamayya’ (one who stands as a representation of Annamayya), lived music, loved music, and he embodied the very essence of music. As a divine musician and as a wonderful tunesmith he engaged music lovers with his regal, mature and aesthetic voice and musical jnana that transcended all boundaries. With his mellifluously spellbinding quality of voice, very exquisite diction, he had become one of the most respected and revered musicians of our times.
He was a Central Sangeeta Nataka Academy Awardee, who was honoured by the honorable President of India – he was the Asthana Sangita Vidwan of Three Devasthanams – The TTD, The Ahobilam Math and The Kanchi Kamakshi Peetham.
The “Daachuko Nee Paadaalaku” program started after an auspicious lighting of the lamp and an offering of ‘pushpanjali’ to the life-like photo of Sri Balakrishna Prasad. The Chief guests were Padmasri Dr. Shobha Raju, Padmabhushan Dr KV Varaprasad Reddy, Sri L V Subramanyam IAS (Retd), Brahmasri Akella Vibheeshana Sarma and Smt. N C Sridevi.
After the concert they all spoke at length, drawing from their personal association and shared experiences with nostalgia and deep respect for Sri Balakrishna Prasad. The message from Brahmasri Samavedam Shanmukha Sarma garu touched a chord of emotional resonance of the audience. The musician group consisting of established music artistes, playback singers, composers and music teachers – came together to sing a devotionally scintillating fare of sankirtanas tuned and sung by Sri Balakrishna Prasad. The participating vocalists were, Sri Garimella Anila Kumar, son and sishya of Sri Balakrishna Prasad, Sri Nihal, Sri Srirangam Venu, Sri Saandip, Sri Pavan Charan, Smt. Srinidhi, Smt. Nitya Santoshini, Smt. Sunita Balaji, Smt. Vidya Bharathi and Smt. Soujanya.
In complete unison and sync, in very devotionally charged voices when they sang, the mellifluous Sankirtanas reverberated and filled the whole auditorium with spiritual energy. They rendered ten Annamacharya Sankirtanas in all and one song from Siva Padham.
The violin, mridangam, tabla, and percussion artistes provided wonderful support.
The AV presentation with the sankirtana ‘Daachuko Nee Paadaalaku’ in the voice of Sri Balakrishna Prasad showcased the precious life moments and momentous milestones of his life trajectory as a renowned musician. The program was seamlessly conducted by Maheedhara Sitarama Sarma with solemnity and expertise.
Speaking to THE HANS INDIA, Anila Kumar Garimella emotionally mentioned about the Souvenir – his father’s last project, which he had to complete along with the help of few close friends, on his father’s sudden demise. He said, “Music is the most accessible form of God” – this I learnt from my father, and I vouch for it.
“In the late 2000s, the “Hari Sankeerthanam” show was recorded and telecast on Bhakti TV, in which he was the guru, and I was the sishya. An enriching 128 episodes full of live teaching of Annamacharya Sankeerthanams shaped me into the singer I eventually became. That show helped over a hundred thousand music enthusiasts across the globe learn Annamacharya Sankeerthanams, and I too benefited the most from it. As I retrospect , I simply learned music through Annamacharya Sankeerthanams in my father’s voice.“
“Beyond his musical brilliance, it’s probably his nectar-like soothing voice which, at all times, maintains a rare 3-way balance between musical melody, proficiency and meticulously detailed pronunciation of lyrics. May be that’s why they work like mantras” What a testimonial by a worthy son of a legendary father!
