As I tuned into All India Radio Madras one day in the mid 1970s for the weekly music lesson programme, my ears latched on to the notes of the familiar raga Kambodhi being sung by the student, followed by the teaching of the song “Yemayya Rama” of saint Bhadrachala Ramadasa. Apart from the soul stirring lyrics, the chaste style and methodical manner of teaching made a lasting impression on myself and thousands of other listeners. At the end of the session, it was announced that the teacher was Nedunuri Krishnamurthy.
Nearly four decades later as I sit with him listening to his singing of the same song, I realise that age may have made him frail, but his music has not lost its verve and sheen. In his characteristic style, as he embellishes the song with graceful sangathis, one can almost visualise sage Ramadasa standing before the lord of Bhadrachalam pouring forth his devotion to Lord Rama and asking whether it is possible for man to fathom his mysterious workings.
One of the seniormost contemporary Carnatic musicians hailing from Andhra Pradesh, Nedunuri Krishnamurthy is a vocalist of international repute. Belonging to an illustrious musical lineage traceable to saint Thyagaraja, he is a disciple of the renowned Dr Sripad Pinakapani. Intense training, rigorous practice, listening to the music of the great masters,coupled with innate musical sensibilities moulded Krishnamurthy into a much sought after performer as well as a teacher. Adherence to the classical idiom, while expressing his fertile imagination in the delineation of ragas are the hallmarks of his music.
The broad sweeps and curves of the raga contours are like a rollercoaster ride, leaving one with a feeling of exhilaration. But it is in the seemingly simple but highly mathematical swara patterns that he weaves that his fecund creativity can be seen. As he tosses out one combination after other, it leaves the listener breathless. Pallavi rendition is his speciality, where he unleashes a virtual tsunami of complicated passages. This brings to mind a concert of his in the late eighties where he rendered the Pallavi Neeve Gathi Amba in Raga Todi in the difficult Khanda Triputa Tala with a four beat takeoff.
One of Krishnamurthy’s greatest achievements has been the setting to tunes of the Sankeerthanas of Saint Annamacharya. During his tenure as the principal of the S V College of Music in Tirupati, he was approached by a friend to set to tune a composition of Annamacharya. After initial hesitation, he agreed to do so. As he says, “It was Lord Venkateshwara’s will that I should do this. As I stared at the text wondering which raga to select, a raga best suited to the mood and sentiments expressed in the song suggested itself to me. I tuned it accordingly and it was very well received. This enthused me to continue the work which was backed by the TTD. Even now when I take up a song for tuning, the raga automatically flashes to me.” Many of them like Bhavamulona, Oka Pari Oka Pari are hugely popular, so much so that he was even approached by M S Subbulakshmi to learn and incorporate them in her recordings.
Innumerable honours and accolades have sought him out, including the Sangeetha Kalanidhi title. The latest jewel in this crown is the prestigious S V Narayanaswamy Rao Memorial National Award conferred upon him by the Sri Ramaseva Mandali,  Bangalore, on April 29.
As he finishes the song and I take leave, the lines of Sadashiva Brahmendra Pibhare Ramarasam spring to my mind. Yes, I have had my fill of the nectar of Rama Nama.