Who is credited with composing talas such as Trimukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptamukhi and Navamukhi?

Explanation

Balamuralikrishna. Dr. Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna (1930-2016) was a legendary Carnatic vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Andhra Pradesh. He is credited with creating new talas (rhythmic cycles), such as Trimukhi, Panchamukhi, Saptamukhi and Navamukhi, as well as new ragas.

Balamuralikrishna was a child prodigy. He gave his first full concert at the age of eight and, by the age of 15, had mastered all 72 melakarta ragas (the parent ragas of Carnatic music) and composed songs in each of them. He was not only a singer, but also played the viola, violin, mridangam and kanjira. Over his long career, he composed more than 400 songs in Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada and Tamil. He was known for his creativity and for experimenting with new ideas, such as creating ragas with only three or four notes, which went beyond the traditional rules of Carnatic music. He also performed jugalbandis (duets) with Hindustani musicians, such as Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, and sang for films. He established the Academy of Performing Arts and Research in Switzerland, to teach music and dance. He received the Padma Shri (1971) and the Padma Vibhushan (1991), as well as the French title of Chevalier of Arts and Letters.

Why not the other options?

• ✗Tyagaraja was one of the Trinity of Carnatic music and composed thousands of kritis, but he did not create these talas.

M.S. Subbulakshmi was a legendary Carnatic singer, the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna.

Lalgudi Jayaraman was a famous Carnatic violinist and composer.