One of the most famous names associated with Classical Carnatic Music is that of Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna. His father Pattabhiramayya was a famous flutist and a music teacher while his mother, Suryakanthama, who passed away when he was still an infant, was proficient in the veena 'the young boy's musical education began under the tutelage of Gayaka Sarvabhaum' Parupalli Ramakrishnayya Pantulu. This legendary musician was also an able composer, playback singer, poet, actor and multi-instrumentalist. Apart from working with famous Indian musicians like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Kishori Amonkar, he also worked with several foreign musicians. Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna performed all over the world including countries like US, UK, France, Russia, Canada, Italy, Singapore and Malaysia among many other nations. Apart from having a successful career as a Carnatic musician, Balamuralikrishna also dominated the South Indian filmdom for many years. He is also credited for having created many ragas and talas and that puts him in a league of his own. Some of the prestigious awards that he had won are Padma Shri, Padma Vibhushan, Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, National Film Awards.