THANU KRISHNA MURTHY
Fellowship of Sangeet Natak Akademi

Born in 1924 in Neyyathinkare village in Kerala, Shri Thanu Krishna Murthy received his training in the Mridangam from Shri Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, an eminent teacher and musician.Among the most senior and respected Vidwans of the art of Mridangam, Shri T.K. Murthy has had a long and successful career on the concert platform. Excellent both as a soloist and accompanist, he has developed a distinctive style of playing the Mridangam and has accompanied many eminent Carnatic musicians over the past years. Among them are artists of five generations – Harikesanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, M.S. Subbulakshmi, M. Balamuralikrishna, Lalgudi Jayaraman, T.V. Sankaranarayanan, U. Srinivas and others. His
performances are marked by fine technique and imaginative improvisation. Shri T.K. Murthy has played a significant role as a teacher and has trained a large number of students. He has performed widely within the country and abroad, and has a large number of recordings with renowned Carnatic vocalists and instrumentalists.

He has received a number of honours for his work including the Kalaimamani bestowed by the Tamil Nadu Eyal Isai Nataka Manram, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), the Fellowship of the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi (1989), the title of Sangeetha Kalanidhi conferred by the Music Academy, Chennai, and the Chowdiah National Award given by the Government of Karnataka.

For his contribution to Carnatic instrumental music, Shri T.K. Murthy is elected Fellow of Sangeet Natak Akademi.