The Carnatic musician with a god-given voice became a rebel with a cause. The citation of the Magsaysay award said it all in portraying him as the crusader who “questioned the politics of art; widened his knowledge about the arts of the Dalits (untouchables) and non-Brahmin communities; and declared he would no longer sing in ticketed events at a famous, annual music festival in Chennai to protest the lack of inclusiveness.”
The esoteric ways of the audiences of the sabhas became anathema to him although he grew up in that system. In personal life too he got past obstacles to regain his calling as a classicist who did not, however, fail to experiment with traditions in the rarified world of Carnatic music. Whether he has managed to dismantle art hierarchies just by singing on the beach rather than a formal chamber remains to be seen. He showed a commitment to fire the salvoes in a bid to democratise art.
DC Take
We all know music as a therapy works wonders. But T.M. Krishna has taken it a step further and tried hard at realising its true goal of being all encompassing. It is very rare that one finds music being used as a potent tool of social change. Certainly, Krishna’s ways are worth emulating.
