This late master of carnatic music played a double-reed instrument called a nagaswara, which looks like an antique ship's captain spy glass, fully extended. It is one of the most fascinating-sounding instruments in a genre of music known for exotic instruments that buzz and tingle and performers who play with extreme virtuosity. Like many musicians in this genre, Krishnan started out young and under tutelage of a family member, in this case, his father, Chinnappa Mudaliar.