Violinist T N Krishnan passes away

Violin maestro T N Krishnan passed away in Chennai at the age of 92. He was born in 1928 in Tripunithura in Kerala to A Narayana Iyer and Ammini Ammal and later settled in Chennai. He died on the evening of November 2. Condoling Krishnan's demise, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that his demise left a big void in the world of music.

"The demise of noted violinist T N Krishnan leaves a big void in the world of music. His works beautifully encapsulated a wide range of emotions and strands of our culture. He was also an outstanding mentor to young musicians. My condolences are with his family and admirers. Om Shanti," Modi said in a tweet.

A child prodigy, Krishnan went on to perform with legends from several generations. He learned music from his father and was later mentored by Alleppy K Parthasarathy, a great patron of Music and student of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and later joined Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.

Krishnan had performed concerts with Carnatic music legends like Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Alathur Brothers, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, M D Ramanathan and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer and others. He was awarded the 'Sangeet Natak Akademi' award in 1974 and the 'Sangeetha Kalanidhi' in 1980.

The government of India had honoured Krishnan with 'Padma Shri' in 1973 and the 'Padma Bhushan' in 1992. He received the 'Sangeetha Kalasikhamani' award for the year 1999 given by 'The Indian Fine arts Society', Chennai.

Krishnan was a professor of music at a music college in Chennai and later he was Dean of the 'School of Music and Fine Arts' at the University of Delhi. He was married to Kamala Krishnan and the couple had two children - Viji Krishnan Natarajan, and Sriram Krishnan - and both of them are noted violinists.

He also used to play 'Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells' and 'Wish you a merry Christmas' at the famed 'Music Academy' auditorium on Christmas.