T. K. Murthy

Thanu Krishna Murthy (born 13 August 1924), better known as T. K. Murthy, is an Indian Mridangam player.^[1] Murthy is a recipient of the Padma Shri^[2] and Sangeetha Kalanidhi awardee awards.^[3]

T. K. Murthy
Hamid Ansari presenting the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship-2010 to the Mridangam vidwan T. K. Murthy, at the investiture ceremony of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowships and Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards-2010
Background information
Also known as	TKM, Chittu, Krishna Murthy
Born	(1924-08-13) 13 August 1924 (age 100)
Genres	Carnatic music
Instrument(s)	Mridangam, Konakkol
Years active	1934–present
Website	T K Murthy

Personal life

Thanu Krishna Murthy was born on 13 August 1924 to Thanu Bhagavathar and Annapurni.^[4] His father, a Carnatic musician, began teaching him music at the age of three, recognizing his interest in percussion instruments. He was given a Mridangam by his mother, Annapurni, and began taking lessons from his elder brother, Gopalakrishnan.^[5] Murthy later received formal training from Thanjavur Vaidyanatha Iyer, the founder of the Thanjavur style of Mridangam.^[6] Under Iyer's guidance, Murthy traveled to Tanjore for advanced training alongside Palghat Mani Iyer and Thambuswami (the brother of Carnatic vocalist T. M. Thiagarajan) ^[6]

Murthy came from a lineage of court musicians and was the fifth generation in his family to pursue music.^[7] The family's musical heritage extends across seven generations.^[8] His son, T.K. worked as a music composer at All India Radio. and his grandson, Karthikeya Murthy, is a film score composer.^[9][10]

Recognition

Murthy's honors and awards include:^[11][12]

• Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi Fellowship in 1989^[13]
• Sangeet Natak Academy Fellowship, 2010 (See List of Sangeet Natak Akademi fellows § List of fellows)
• Padma Shri by the Government of India, 2017^[14]