DC Debate: T.M. Krishna to not sing in the December Margazhi festival
TMK or not, the show will go on
After much thought, I have decided to react to T.M. Krishna ‘s reasons for not singing in the December Margazhi festival, in my capacity as a long-time connoisseur of classical music and the December festival. As long as Krishna kept the decision as his own personal one, it was just fine. But subsequently, since he has declared a host of disparate reasons for his decision damning pretty much the entire festival and all its participants, it warrants a response.
First of all, I have a problem with is his accusation that sabhas and NRIs along with the audiences are only patronising “popular” music. Krishna fails to communicate what he means by “popular” (and why that is wrong). If Krishna feels that many non-celebrity musicians get ignored, why does he have known “popular” names in his own initiatives such as Svanubhava? I can, however, bet my last rupee that every sabha will give you the names of at least five new/upcoming artistes they have unconditionally promoted each season.
Another accusation against the sabhas is that they are “commodifying” music. If he is referring to the various aspects of monetisation, does he then imply that he will stop getting paid for his concerts hereafter? Isn’t that commodification? Another very problematic accusation is that the sabhas in general are corrupt, and that “NRI artistes” dominate the festival by buying their way to the stage. The silver lining is that he vindicates all India-based artistes of corruption!
However, he defames sabhas and artistes who don’t reside in India without any supporting evidence or a narrative that explains the basis for his accusation. At the very least, this accusation is an act of unmitigated irresponsibility; such an act cannot and must not be taken seriously. He has alleged that the December season is not “secular” enough. Is he then implying that the sabhas that he is singing in off-season are incorruptible and ‘secular’ to his satisfaction as against the ones he is not performing in? I would argue that, in fact, the December festival audiences are far more secular/cosmopolitan and come in droves anywhere from small towns to international locations and across communities and attend concerts.
The audience profile is a class issue and is far more complex than he makes it out to be. Krishna complains about the proliferation of sabhas. I would say, if Carnatic music is patronised primarily by the sabhas, may their tribe increase. The most damning allegation of them all — that music has fled from the Margazhi season. This essentially means that not a single artiste is performing with integrity during the season. Utterly untrue. And a direct insult to connoisseurs like myself who would not flock to this festival year after year if the music had “fled” from it! Of course, the on-going dialogue on the importance, ramifications and imperfections of the season must sustain. But it is one of complexity that can be addressed through dialogue and participatory transformation. Not through a one-man damnation. But as the wise say, the music will rule. And the show will go on. (Sharada Ramanathan,film director and Carnatic music buff)
Krishna’s decision runs true to form
Did vidwan T.M. Krishna’s recent announcement of his withdrawal from performing during the Chennai December music season surprise anyone? It did not surprise me, for one. I would have been startled if he had decided not to surprise us this year, as he has been doing every year for a while now. If my memory serves me right, it all started with a coffee table book on Carnatic music he co-authored with Bombay Jayashri, followed by articles he began to contribute to the press, first on music (one on the discriminatory treatment meted out to women artistes was one of his early forays into writing), and, gradually, on a variety of subjects social, political and arts-related.
Around the same time, the media reported that he would cycle everywhere during the music festival that year rather than add to the increased pollution of the period caused by increased traffic.
Later came his free cutcheris during the season, which the NRIs thronging the sabhas enjoyed in equal if not greater numbers - than such of those locals as could not afford to pay. And for quite some time now, almost all his concerts have had the surprise element built in from the sequence and treatment of songs, raga alapana, tanam and so on to the nouveau-democratic seating arrangement on the dais.
In-between, Krishna has envisioned and spearheaded several novel concepts and initiatives, including Margazhi Raagam, his cutcheri-as-movie with Bombay Jayashri, Samvada, a series of conversations between senior and junior vidwans he organised in collaboration with the archival institution Sampradaya, Svanubhava, an annual introduction to our arts for students, again initially partnering Jayashri, a revival of temple concert music, providing a platform for up-and-coming artistes and One, an experimental film featuring Krishna singing a number of songs amidst nature without accompaniment.
Perhaps his largest, most ambitious endeavour so far has been his magnum opus on Carnatic music, which has won him accolades from such eminent personalities as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
Through it all, Krishna has maintained, if not enlarged, his large fan base, even as a number of critics question the sweeping changes he has been attempting in the format of the Carnatic music cutcheri. They are equally skeptical of the merit of many of his pronouncements on his art and its politics as well as the motives behind these pronouncements.
His defenders find much to laud in his rich music and find nothing sacrosanct about the modern cutcheri paddhati invented and inspired by Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar in the last century. They love Krishna’s intensity and eyes-closed devotion to his music, and his empathy and synergy with his accompanying artistes. They have no quarrel with his verbal exchanges with his accompanists and the audience during his concerts. To them, it is all part of the total TMK package, while the critics find it distracting and disrespectful. (V. Ramnarayan,Editor-in-Chief, Sruti)
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