| 1. His father named him "Murali Krishnan," and he was given the prefix "Bala" by Musunuri Satyanarayana. |
| 2. He is a 5th generation descendant of the saint-composer Thyagaraja. |
| 3. He composed music for the first Sanskrit film, Adi Sankarar in 1983. |
| 4. His repertoire includes over 400 compositions in Telugu, Sanskrit, Kannada, and Tamil. |
| 5. He was honored with the Padma Vibhushan in 1991 and the Padma Shri in 1971. |
| 6. He was also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan. |
| 7. He was made Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Government in 2005. |
| 8. He was well-versed in Carnatic and Hindustani vocal music. |
| 9. He played musical instruments including the flute, viola, violin, and mridangam. |
| 10. He performed in over 18,000 concerts across the world. |
| 11. He collaborated with legends like Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Hariprasad Chaurasia, and Kishori Amonkar. |
| 12. Started his career at the age of six. |
| 13. Mastered all 72 Melakarta Ragas by age fifteen. |
| 14. Invented a new Tala system. |
| 15. Established the MBK Trust for art, culture, and music therapy research; includes 'Vipanchee' dance and music school managed by trustee Kalaimamani Saraswati. |
| 16. Played kanjira, veena, and accompanied musicians on violin. |
