Complex sentence: In Balachander's last years, he embarked on an intense feud with vocalist legend Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, perhaps the most respected figure in all of Carnatic music--and his polemics were as extreme as his veena playing.
Split into simpler sentences: In Balachander's last years, he embarked on an intense feud with vocalist legend Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. And his polemics were as extreme as his veena playing.