New Delhi: The simmering discontent over vocalist and writer T.M. Krishna’s challenge to Brahmanical dominance in the Carnatic classical music world has erupted into an open confrontation.
After Chennai-based The Music Academy, Madras announced that the Ramon Magsaysay awardee would be honoured with the Sangita Kalanidhi, at least six musicians and vocalists have pulled out of the academy’s annual music festival.
“Mr T.M. Krishna has glorified EVR aka Periyar who called for the Genocide of Brahmins, normalised use of vile profanity on the Brahmin women. His vilification of the fraternity, and hurting sentiments and values of the system and insults to the icons are some of the reasons,” said sisters and vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri in a joint WhatsApp response to ThePrint.
They expressed a similar sentiment in a letter to The Music Academy, Madras and in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
5/6
Its dangerous to overlook Mr TM Krishna’s glorification of a figure like EVR who 1. Openly proposed a genocide of ‘brahmins’
2. Repeatedly called/abused every woman of this community with vile profanity
3. Relentlessly worked to normalize filthy language in social discourse
— Ranjani Gayatri (@ranjanigayatri) March 20, 2024
Other musicians and vocalists including Harikatha exponent Dushyanth Sridhar, the Trichur Brothers Srikrishna and Ramkumar Mohan and vocalist Vishakha Hari are among those who have pulled out of the festival. The academy’s Margazhi festival where Krishna — as a recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi, a title conferred annually — will be presiding over academic sessions and concerts is held from 15 December to 1 January.
Academy president N. Murali in a letter dated 21 March to Ranjani and Gayatri expressed shock over their “vicious”, “vituperative”, “unwarranted” and “slanderous assertions” against a fellow musician, which he said verged on defamation. “The academy has chosen T.M. Krishna for this accolade based on his excellence in music over a long career…,” he wrote.
The sisters expressed surprise at the academy’s response but are firm in their decision to boycott the festival. “The academy has the right to choose whomever it wants through a ‘process’. We had our choices and withdrew from the festival. They can disagree with us. But we see anger in the response,” they told ThePrint.
But the decision is turning out to be a polarising one.
Chitraveena exponent Ravikiran, who had received the Sangita Kalanidhi award in 2017, stated on X that he would be returning his award in protest.
RETURNING SANGITA KALANIDHI AWARD from ACADEMY: I’ve taken this step after careful consideration as principles much larger than all of us are at stake. However I’ll always remain deeply grateful to the org for its role in my career from childhood 🙏#musicacademy #award #Music pic.twitter.com/EfXVtkUTns
— Chitravina Ravikiran (@ravikiranmusic) March 21, 2024
“When he has not performed for the last ten years in the festival, why is he getting the award?” asks Dushyanth Sridhar, who has also decided to boycott his performance scheduled for January 1, 2025, citing pain caused by Krishna’s remarks on Dharma, Ayodhya and the Hindu deity Ram.
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‘Academy prepared to question institution of caste’
Krishna, who received the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2016, is a Brahmin, but has never shied away from criticising his community and fraternity. He has been a vocal critic of the upper-caste status quo which is deeply entrenched in the Carnatic music establishment. He took the music to the slums.
In 2015, when T.M. Krishna boycotted the annual Chennai music season and the academy, he cited “Brahmanism” and “corruption” as among his reasons for doing so.
Social activist Nityanand Jayaraman, who along with Krishna co-organises Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha, an annual music and dance festival held in a fishing village near Chennai, said the statement ‘you cannot separate an artist from his art or his politics’ applies here.
When The Music Academy, Madras honoured T.M. Krishna, they also honored his politics, sentiments about equality, social justice, and caste oppression, said Jayaraman.
“This is a very positive development for an institution like Madras Academy, which has been able to mature and engage with the changing times and is prepared to question the institution of caste by honouring T.M. Krishna,” he added.
But Anand, an Ambedkarite and publisher of Navayana said he does not believe that anything has changed in the academy. “It remains a Brahmin fiefdom, run by a clique. It’s helmed by a Brahmin man who has been its president forever. The academy is the same, only Krishna has changed. Or did he ever really change?”
Anand, who is also a student of Dhrupad with Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar, added, “The Brahmins are having an internal squabble. And the house always wins. In accepting the award Krishna has belied the little hope one had in him. Clearly the academy thought it’s time for their rebel’s ghar wapsi.”
Meanwhile, National Award-winning singer Chinmayi Sripada has also come out in support of T.M. Krishna. While congratulating him on the award, she also questioned Ranjani and Gayatri about the time Carnatic Music students levelled allegations of sexual harassment and abuse against multiple Carnatic musicians in 2018.
Asked whether the issue revolves around caste supremacy, the Trichur brothers, who have also decided to boycott the event, said, “Out of the thousand concerts that we have done, there has not been a single concert where anyone has been discriminated based on socio-economic background. We run an online school of music and there is no column in the application form which asks the student about his caste, religion, or even nationality.”
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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