Chennai: Veteran Carnatic musician M Balamuralikrishna passed away in Chennai on Tuesday. He was 86.

A native of Sankaraguptam in East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh, he was named Murali Krishna. At the age of eight, he gave his first concert in Vijayawada. Distinguished Harikatha performer Musunuri Suryanarayana Murty Bhagavatar, who saw the concert, gave the prefix ‘Bala’ and hence he became Balamuralikrishna.

Balamuralikrishna is credited with innovating the tala system with Thri Mukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptha Mukhi and Nava Mukhi. Besides being a vocalist, Balamuralikrishna also played the violin, mridangam and kanjira.

Balamuralikrishna acted as Narada in the popular Telugu movie “Bhakta Prahalada.” He has rendered some unforgettable playback songs too. He was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 1991.