India, Sept. 29 -- A week ago, musicians Sangeetha Sivakumar, N Guruprasad, B Sivaraman and I had the privilege of spending a morning with the mrdangam maestro Dr T K Murthy. On August 13 2024, this great man turned 100! It is rare to meet centenarians; and even rarer to find them among musicians. For those who may not have heard his name, let me introduce him. Murthy represents one of the great schools of mrdangam. He has adorned stages across the globe and collaborated with the who's who of Indian classical music. One musician with whom he had a continued aesthetic partnership was MS Subbalakshmi. He anticipated her every move, accentuating her electric flourishes with his breath-taking wizardry and her pauses with his silences.

Murthy...