One does not have to agree with Carnatic classical vocalist T M Krishna’s political views to find soul in his music. Even if one disagrees with his ideology that rejects circumscribed concepts of power and privilege, supports Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and often includes Jesus and Allah along with Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Subramania Bharati, Iqbal Bano and Tagore in his Carnatic classical concerts, there has never been a question mark on the quality of his music in the age-old art form he’s imbibed. A child prodigy, his brilliance compels even his harshest critics to accept his artistry and skill.
Similarly, one does not have to be at daggers with Ranjani-Gayatri’s right-wing stance or their idea that Brahmins “are the least casteist of all communities” and “soft targets”, or tweets equating the word “secular” with “Islamist”, to find depth in their polished work. In fact when both — Krishna and Ranjani-Gayatri — sing and venerate Tyagaraja’s Ram in the kirtanas that the 19th-century saint left behind, it’s easy to surrender to the trance and an intangible emotional experience they offer.
The commonality doesn’t end here. About nine years apart, both have withdrawn from the prestigious December Music Season — Chennai’s revered celebration in the Marghazi month. Krishna’s decision came in 2015 after grappling with uncomfortable questions about the cultural and social mores of the system he was entrenched in. This system, he felt, came with a lack of plurality, an idea of exclusivity and socio-political-cultural barriers. The decision from Ranjani-Gayatri and some others earlier this month came after The Music Academy awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi to Krishna.
What has driven a wedge — at least at the face of it — is that a certain faction of Carnatic classical musicians, all Brahmin, believe that Krishna, also a Brahmin, has insulted Tyagaraja and M S Subbulakshmi besides glorifying political activist Periyar, a founding figure of the Dravidian movement, in his discourse.
Let’s try and find these insults. Krishna withdrew from the Sabhas and the Academy despite performing there as part of the December Music Season since his debut at 12 at the Academy, and despite his granduncle (T T Krishnamachari) being one of the founders of the Academy. When he made the decision, he was struggling with questions of society, politics, culture, music and aesthetics. It was interesting because he came from every privilege possible — caste, class, gender — an insider who was questioning his artistic roots and Brahminical hegemony that went deeper every time he dug things up. Here was an artiste examining his art beyond the craft.
If one looks carefully at Krishna’s writings, lectures and interviews, his reverence for Subbulakshmi’s stirring music falls in the emotional realm. He has touched upon her Devadasi roots and asked whether she would have been so widely accepted if she hadn’t “Brahminised” herself or was dark-skinned. He also examined changes in her music – from her days in Madurai to later marrying a Brahmin and tailoring some of the music according to what was required. He feels that “her music was what it was because of the sorrow in her”.
These are fair questions and observations. But none of the artistes who withdrew or Chitravina Ravikiran, who returned his Sangita Kalanidhi, engaged with the narrative or had a conversation about it.
While singing Tyagaraja kritis for several years, Krishna has attempted to scrutinise the complexity of the Telugu saint while questioning some of his aesthetic choices, politics and social commentaries. As for Periyar, Krishna had collaborated with Perumal Murugan to commemorate Vaikom Satyagraha, the anti-caste agitation in the 1920s to enter the prohibited premises of Vaikom Temple in Kerala, led by the “father of the Dravidian movement”.
Periyar has always divided people. While some call him an iconoclast and egalitarian, others take issue with his anti-Brahmin statements. But how is any of that related to the Sangita Kalanidhi? Fault the music and you have a case. The fact that those opposed to Krishna are withdrawing because they think that the award shouldn’t be given to someone whose views they are uncomfortable with, is distasteful.
The difference between the two factions lies in nuance, self-reflection, and the awareness of their own art form’s strengths and follies. While representing a rich musical tradition, Krishna has also questioned it, shaking the status quo, thus ruffling the feathers. The opposition to his receiving the Sangeet Kalanidhi is not only misplaced, it is steeped in the same issues Krishna has questioned.
The beauty of one’s craft is not just in its sensitivity. It also lies in how it’s created. The Sangita Kalanidhi is not only well-deserved. It’s also a message to the divided world of Carnatic classical music to look within.
The Sangita Kalanidhi is not only well-deserved. It’s also a message to the divided world of Carnatic classical music to look within.
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31.03.2024
One does not have to agree with Carnatic classical vocalist T M Krishna’s political views to find soul in his music. Even if one disagrees with his ideology that rejects circumscribed concepts of power and privilege, supports Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and often includes Jesus and Allah along with Tyagaraja, Dikshitar, Subramania Bharati, Iqbal Bano and Tagore in his Carnatic classical concerts, there has never been a question mark on the quality of his music in the age-old art form he’s imbibed. A child prodigy, his brilliance compels even his harshest critics to accept his artistry and skill.
Similarly, one does not have to be at daggers with Ranjani-Gayatri’s right-wing stance or their idea that Brahmins “are the least casteist of all communities” and “soft targets”, or tweets equating the word “secular” with “Islamist”, to find depth in their polished work. In fact when both — Krishna and Ranjani-Gayatri — sing and venerate Tyagaraja’s Ram in the kirtanas that the 19th-century saint left behind, it’s easy to surrender to the trance and an intangible emotional experience they offer.
The commonality doesn’t end here. About nine years apart, both have withdrawn from the prestigious........
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