Violinist Balabhaskar to be cremated with state honours today

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Violinist and music composer Balabhaskar, 40, who succumbed to injuries he suffered in a road accident early on Tuesday, will be cremated with state honours at Santhikavadam here on Wednesday at 10am. He had been battling for life at a private hospital for the past seven days and the death came around 12.50am.
B alabhaskar had met with the accident along with his wife Lakshmi, 38, daughter Thejaswini Bala, 2, and friend Arjun, 29, on the national highway at Thamarakkulam near Pallippuram, some 15km from here, early on September 25.Their Toyota Innova MUV had strayed off the road and rammed into a tree on the opposite side. It is suspected that Arjun, who was driving the car, dozed off.
Balabhaskar's daughter died before reaching the hospital while he suffered multiple injuries on his spine, rib cage, lungs and brain. Lakshmi and Arjun continue to be under treatment at the same hospital.
On Tuesday, after post-mortem examination at Medical College Hospital, the body was taken to University College, his alma mater, for the public to pay homage.
In the evening, it was shifted to Kalabhavan Theatre, where his friends from music fraternity played live music as a tribute. The body was later taken to his residence in Thirumala.
Chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, ministers Thomas Isaac, KT Jaleel, E Chandrasekharan, Kadakampally Surendran, mayor VK Prasanth, Suresh Gopi MP, MLAs VS Sivakumar, K Muraleedharan, CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran and KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran were among those who paid tributes.
Balabhaskar is the son of Chandran (retired post master) and Santhakumari (retired college teacher). He has a sister, Meera.
He had achieved fame at a very young age as a violin prodigy, winning many competitions at the school level itself. He debuted as a music director at 17, for the movie 'Mangalyapallak'. He, however, walked away from the industry after three more movies to focus on his independent music career. He is credited with popularizing the genre of fusion music among Malayalis.