Chennai: Violin Maestro T.N. Krishnan (Tripunithura Narayanaiyer Krishnan) passed away here yesterday due to age-related ailments. 

He entered the music world as a child prodigy and performed till his last days. He was 92, and is survived by wife Kamala, son Sriram Krishnan and daughter Viji Krishnan, who often accompanied their father.

Born on Oct. 6, 1928 in Tripunithura, Kerala, to A. Narayana Iyer and Ammini Ammal, he learnt music from his father.  He gave his first solo violin concert in Thiruvananthapuram in 1939 as a boy of 11. He had a mentor in Alleppy K. Parthasarathy, and Krishnan had always acknowledged the support rendered by him during the early days of his career.

He had accompanied great musicians such as Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer, Alathur Brothers, G.N. Balasubramaniam, Madurai Mani Iyer, Chembai Vaidyanatha Bhagavatar, M.D. Ramanathan and Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer and the recordings available still explain Krishnan’s talent as an accompanying artiste before becoming a solo performer.

He shifted his base to Chennai in 1942 and came under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and his career graph emerged.

Krishnan also excelled as a teacher and he was the Professor of Music at the Music College, Chennai. Later, he became the Dean of School of Music and Fine Arts, University of Delhi. He was known as Professor Krishnan in the music world. He won many awards, including Sangita Kalanidhi of the Music Academy, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.