T M Krishna, Sangitha Kalanidhi and a new divide

On March 17, The Music Academy, Madras, sprang a surprise by deciding to confer the prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award on vocalist T M Krishna, known as a rebel for questioning ‘caste elitism’ in Karnatik music. 

Krishna, a critically-acclaimed author, columnist, and activist, had not spared the academy either, criticising it for refusing to postpone the December Music Festival when unprecedented rains swamped Chennai in 2015. 

For the past nine years, Krishna had stayed away from the festival, where about 3,000 artistes perform across Chennai, drawing hundreds of connoisseurs of raga music from across the globe. He had complained that he felt disconnected “aesthetically, socially, and philosophically” from the annual event. 

Many in the Karnatik music world have raised a banner of revolt against the institution for choosing Krishna for the honour.

Vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri and Dushyanth Sridhar are among seven artistes who first decided to withdraw from the music season, while Chitravina Ravikiran, named during #MeToo, said he would return the Sangita Kalanidhi award given to him in 2017. 

After The Music Academy, a 96-year-old institution whose decision to drop artistes named during the #MeToo movement from the music season drew appreciation, decided to engage with Krishna, he said he would be back at the festival to perform on December 25 this year. He will preside over the academic sessions of the academy’s 98th annual conference as well. 

Krishna told Showtime that he had accepted the honour because “some things have changed” in the past decade. 

‘No going back’

N Murali, president of The Music Academy, told Showtime there was no question of going back on the decision to award the Sangita Kalanidhi to Krishna. “We decided to confer the award on Krishna after much deliberation and we see no reason to retract. The sole criterion for choosing Krishna for the honour was his excellence in music. There was no extraneous factor that influenced our decision,” he said.

He also stressed that the academy was much bigger than individuals. “I believe they (Ranjani and Gayatri) are upset because they weren’t chosen for the honour,” he said.

Krishna had come under attack from fellow-musicians in 2020 when his book ‘Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mridangam Makers’ referred to cow hide being used in musical instruments like the mridangam.

“Everybody knows instruments like mridangam can’t be made without a cow being slaughtered. People who enjoy the sound from a mridangam refuse to acknowledge how the instrument is being made. The book chronicles the life of those unsung heroes who should get due credit for the sound that comes out of mridangam,” Krishna had said.