Thanu Krishna Murthy (born 13 August 1924), better known as T. K. Murthy, is an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Associated with India * of or related to India ** Indian people ** Indian diaspora ** Languages of India ** Indian English, a dialect of the English language ** Indian cuisine Associated with indigenous peoples o ...

Mridangam The ''mridangam'' is an ancient percussion instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is the primary rhythmic accompaniment in a Carnatic music ensemble. In Dhrupad, a modified version, the pakhawaj, is the primary percussion in ...

player. Murthy is a recipient of the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee awards.

Personal life

Thanu Krishna Murthy was born on 13 August 1924 to Thanu Bhagavathar and Annapurni. His father, a Carnatic

musician A musician is someone who Composer, composes, Conducting, conducts, or Performing arts#Performers, performs music. According to the United States Employment Service, "musician" is a general Terminology, term used to designate a person who fol ...

, began teaching him music at the age of three, recognizing his interest in

percussion instrument A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

s. He was given a

by his mother, Annapurni, and began taking lessons from his elder brother, Gopalakrishnan. Murthy later received formal training from Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, the founder of the Thanjavur style of

. Under Iyer's guidance, Murthy traveled to

Tanjore Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...

for advanced training alongside Palghat Mani Iyer and Thambuswami (the brother of Carnatic vocalist T. M. Thiagarajan) Murthy came from a lineage of court musicians and was the fifth generation in his family to pursue music. The family's musical heritage extends across seven generations. His son, T.K. worked as a music composer at

All India Radio All India Radio (AIR), also known as Akashvani (), is India's state-owned public broadcasting, public radio broadcaster. Founded in 1936, it operates under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (India), Ministry of Information and Broa ...

. and his grandson, Karthikeya Murthy, is a film score composer.

Recognition

Murthy's honors and awards include: *

Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship The Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship is an honour presented by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi, an autonomous organisation for the encouragement, preservation, and documentation of the performing arts of Kerala, set up by the Depar ...

in 1989 *

Sangeet Natak Academy Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English language, English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. It is an autonomous body of the Ministry of Culture (India) ...

Fellowship, 2010 (See ) *

by the Government of India, 2017

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murthy, T K 1924 births Living people Mridangam players Tamil musicians Indian men centenarians Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Sangeetha Kalanidhi recipients Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship