Carnatic vocalist, playback singer and composer Mangalamapalli Balamuralikrishna (86) who died on Tuesday, was a regular feature at Mumbai’s Shanmukhanand Hall in Sion.

“When he performed here, we would always have a packed house,” says a Shanmukhanand loyalist. An old timer remembered patrons from the city’s South Indian concentration Matunga and Chembur areas packing the hall, the smell of jasmine from the gajras all pervasive, the rustle of silk saris and the hushed tones of an audience excited and overwhelmed at the opportunity to hear the legend.