M Balamuralikrishna idol installed in temple gopuram 15 years ago

TIRUNELVELI: Music has no barriers, proved the maestro of Carnatic music, Balamurali Krishna, who has been honoured by villagers of Sevalaperi village on the banks of river Thamirabarani in Tirunelveli district. The musical genius had passed away in Chenai on Tuesday.

The villagers recognized his musical genius by installing his idol on their village temple ‘Gopuram’, virtually deifying him on par with other sculptures of deities. .

Though outsiders think that villagers here are rude and rustic, following the Tamil blockbuster movie, “Seevalaperi Pandi”, the Seevalaperi village on the banks of river Thamirabarani has a different face and has a natural inclination towards Carnatic music.

One from among their village, T R Sankara Iyer, was greatly revered by Balamurali Krishna as his ‘guru’. To demonstrate his respect for his guru, Balamurali Krishna built a temple for goddess Durgambika on the banks of the Thamirabarani in the village, as Sankara Iyer was a great devotee of the goddess.

Balamurali had also organised a musical concert 50 years ago in Tirunelveli to mobilise funds for the construction of the temple. It was later renovated and ‘Kumbabishegam (consecration)’ performed in the year 2000, when Seevalaperi villagers, as a mark of their respect and gratitude to Balamurali Krishna placed his idol as well in a sitting posture on the northeastern side of the ‘Rajagopuram’.