Event organisers have received threat calls indicating that hosting TM Krishna would mean denigrating Hindu religion and classical music legacy.
Bengaluru: Award-winning classical musician T.M. Krishna, who has in the past been attacked by Hindu groups for his views, is facing a new protest ahead of a planned concert in Mysuru.
The Mysuru event organisers have received threat calls and messages indicating that hosting Krishna would mean denigrating “Hindu dharma and Shastriya (classical) music legacy”.
Krishna is scheduled to hold a concert and music workshop on “Rare Krithis of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshithar” on 22–23 November at Gana Bharathi in Mysuru’s Kuvempunagar area.
The organisers confirmed getting the threat calls to ThePrint, but insisted that they are planning to go ahead with the event.
“There is no need to bow down to the pressure by some random elements,” said Himamshu C.R., one of the organisers.
“We have got a few calls asking us to stop the event. We asked them to come before us and prove with documents as to why we should not hold the programme,” he said.
“If they don’t like the person we are hosting, let them not attend it. There is absolutely no need to make threatening calls,” he added.
The organisers have sought police intervention to ensure that the event is held without trouble.
Also read: TM Krishna promises 1 Allah, Jesus song a month after Hindu group attacks Carnatic singers
Past controversies
This isn’t the first time that a Krishna programme has faced threats from Hindu groups.
In August, a controversy broke out after Ramanathan Seetharaman, self-proclaimed founder of the Coimbatore-based Hindu group Rashtriya Sanathana Seva Sangam, targeted Krishna and vocalists O.S. Arun and Nithyashree Mahadevan, accusing them of promoting conversion through singing Christian hymns.
Krishna decided to take on the activists by announcing that he would release compositions on Allah and Jesus every month as music transcended all religions.
Soon after Krishna’s announcement in August, Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Maryland, a prominent temple in the US, canceled his concert.
Mahadevan, however, apologised on social media saying that she had no intention to hurt the sentiments of “music rasikas (enthusiasts).”
“We faced a similar situation when Nithyashree came to perform in Mysuru during the Ganesh Chaturthi celebrations last month. We stood our ground and the event went off smoothly,” added Himamshu.
Also read: A week after hymn controversy, US temple cancels T.M. Krishna concert