Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna deserves state funeral
Hyderabad: The Chief Ministers of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state on Wednesday were blamed by critics for not coordinating with the Tamil Nadu government for ordering a state funeral for legendary Carnatic singer Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna, who died on Tuesday evening in Chennai.
On Wednesday evening, Balamuralikrishna’s body was cremated at the Besant Nagar Cremation Grounds in Chennai, but less than 30 people followed the funeral procession from his house to the cremation grounds. This upset his followers.
Noted Tollywood lyricist and dialogue writer Jonnavittula Ramalinges-wara Rao, who visited Balamuralikrishna’s house to pay his respects, said that he had made a request in the morning to the Chief Ministers of the two Telugu states to talk to the Tamil Nadu government for ordering a state funeral with full honours as a mark of respect to the departed legend. But nothing was done.
He said that it was very sad to see fewer than 30 people in the funeral procession of Balamuralikrishna. He said both Mr N. Chandrababu Naidu and Mr K. Chandrasekhar Rao failed to talk to the Tamil Nadu officials in this regard. “Is this the kind of treatment for a person like Balamuralikrishna who enthralled the world of music for the past eight decades?” Mr Ramalingeswara Rao asked. Ghazal singer Srinivas also said that it was unfortunate.
