Legendary Carnatic musician M.Balamuralikrishna has passed away in Chennai this afternoon. He was 86. He was suffering from age-related geriatric problems for the past many months, and died in sleep at his residence.<br/><br/>Balamuralikrishna is a recipient of Padma Vibhusan award. Hailing from the Sankaraguptham village in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, he began his musical journey at a tender age of 8. Since then, he has performed in over 25 thousand concerts.<br/><br/>He excelled during his long musical career as a prominent Carnatic vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, playback singer, composer and also as an actor. He was honoured by the French award Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres among others.<br/><br/>AIR correspondent reports that the demise of the doyen of classical music Balamuralikrishna is being mourned by the musical fraternity with grief. He has been a promising staff artist of All India Radio, Vijayawada. The multifaceted artist shot to fame in acting also in his debut film Bhakta Prahlada in which he performed the role of Narada.<br/><br/>He has penned about 300 kirtanas and many Universities decorated him with honorary doctorates. Balamuralikrishna is also a recipient of Filmfare awards and National Film Awards for best music direction and playback singing. <br/><br/>He was offered the title Sangita Kalanidhi by the Music Academy of Chennai. He has left a void in the world of music, though his renditions will ring in the ears of classical music lovers for long.