Sundaram Balachander was an Indian veena player and composer who was born in Madras, British India, in 1927. He is famous for his virtuosic technique on the Saraswati veena and for his innovative approach to Karnatic music. Balachander achieved early professional recognition as a child artist in the film Seetha Kalyanam (1934) and mastered the sitar by twelve. He developed a distinct musical style known as Balachander Bani and performed internationally as a soloist and teacher. His discography includes the studio recordings Magic Music of India (1963) and The Music of India (1965). As a composer, he produced scores for films including Idhu Nijama (1948) and Andha Naal (1954). For his contributions to the arts, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1982. Balachander died in 1990.
