T. K. Murthy Biography 
T. K. Murthy is a renowned mridangam artist of Carnatic music who dedicated over eight-decades for this art. He was born into a family of court musicians and he himself belongs to the fifth generation of music lineage. Now it has entered the 7th generation, with his son T. K. Jayaraman and grandson Karthikeya Murthy too follows the musical heritage. His son was a music composer at AIR, while his grandson, a noted music composer of present times who made his debut in 2015 with the film - Moone Moonu Varthai. Now aged 90 plus, Murthy has dedicated his life time to the world of classical music. He has received numerous awards and honours including Kalaimamani award from Government of Tamil Nadu and Sangeet Natak Academy Award in 1987.
Also known by the names - TKM, Chittu and Krishna Murthy, Murthy was born in the year 1924 to Thanu Bhagavathar and Annapoorani. Murthy started playing mridangam without any formal training at the age of only 8. Once Tanjore Vaidyanatha Iyer happened to visit his place and spotting Murthy’s talent, he accepted him as his disciple. Vaidyanatha Iyer took Murthy to Tanjore, where he received training aside Palghat Mani Iyer and Thambuswami. Murthy shared a great relationship with his guru and his wife, who regarded him as their son.
Murthy made his first public performance at the age of 11 at Coimbatore, when he accompanied the great Carnatic vocalist Musiri Subramania Iyer. Since then in his glorious career spanning to more than 80 years, he has accompanied many leading vocalists belonging to five generations. He served as court musician of Travancore kings and also played for street drama, puppet show, Bharatnatyam etc. He was deeply influenced by the style of legendary Palani Subramaniam Pillai and blended Thanjavur and Pudukottai schools of music. He was also conferred with Honorary Doctorate from Arizona University, USA. He has composed 108 talas.
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Updated: April 03, 2016
