Balabhaskar had shot to fame, when as a 17-year-old, became the youngest composer in Malayalam by scoring music for the film 'Mangalya Pallak'. (Photo | Facebook)
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Sunday evening Manaveeyam street, the cultural corridor of the capital city, literally turned out into a space for reminiscing its beloved violinist Balabhaskar who had magic in his hands. At the gateway of the street, a huge prototype of a red violin was placed by his friends as part of their affection towards the artist.
Several personalities in music, film and literary fields, friends and co-artists of Balabhaskar flocked to the street to say a few words about the renowned musician. The commemoration meeting was jointly organised by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy and Manaveeyam Veedhi Theruvorakoottam.
Academy chairman Kamal said Balabhaskar had struck a chord with the people of Thiruvananthapuram and his untimely demise left a huge void and loss for the music spectrum. “He had a tryst with Manaveeyam street and was always a part of this corridor. Balu had created a fusion music trend unlike other musicians,” Kamal said.
Soorya Krishnamurthy was all praise for Balabhaskar’s composition of the theme music of Soorya festival. “I had suggested a music which should be a mix of divinity of Mahaganapathy, Adithya and Agni. He came out with a wonderful composition which is still the signature of Soorya festival.”
Playback singer G Venugopal said he knew Balabhaskar very personally and his love towards fusion music was unmatched. “Though I have helped him meet stalwarts such as Ilayaraja and A R Rahman, he humbly backed out. and created his own space to make a mark in music. He had taken two risks. One was his marriage during college days and the other was the experimentation in fusion music. His demise left a big loss to music,” Venugopal said. Kavalam Sreekumar, writer Ravi Menon, G Sreeram, G S Vijayan, Santhivila Dineshan, academy secretary Mahesh Panju spoke on the occasion. A musical tribute was also held later in the evening.
