S Subhakeerthana By

CHENNAI: He has a strong unconventional opinion about everything - as a performer, teacher, lecturer, speaker-activist and an author. T M Krishna (40) is one of those rare breed of musicians who are often ‘misunderstood’. His stubborn nature and unpopular opinions have been controversial, and often made headlines on many occasions. His connect with the audience and fellow musicians have never been smooth.



Named for the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award

Here’s a sample: Last year, he chose to skip the December music sabha season much to the disappointment of many artistes and rasikas. He said, “Unfortunately, at the place I am today, I am unable to continue my musical journey. Over the years, sabhas have been most accommodative and graceful in accepting my varied requests.” Many of his contemporaries accused him of disrespecting classical music and tampering with tradition.

In one of the earlier interviews to the Express, he had said, “My thoughts come out ‘strong’ because when I speak or write, I express myself with a great deal of passion. I am loud. I speak my mind. If people have issues about what I say or do, it’s up to them. I am open to conversations and clarifications anytime. Audiences are entitled to dislike/criticise my concerts. But that will not change the way I sing. I am unfazed by criticisms.”

He has also been vociferous in questioning the domination of the Carnatic music scene by a single community and has demanded many sabha folks to not have his concerts ticketed. In October 2015, he wrote an open letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi requesting him to break the silence on the future of pluralism in India.

None of these have affected his box-office appeal. His kutcheris have always had packed audience till date. A musician with interests in many things like travelling, writing and playing cricket, Krishna has always been a magnetic performer. In 2013, he authored ‘A Southern Music - The Karnatic Story’, besides co-authoring Voices Within: Carnatic Music - Passing on an Inheritance.

He organised the Urur Olcott Kuppam festival and taught Carnatic music in Corporation schools. The goal was to space out its affluent quadrangles to the grassroots. Quite an impact he made with that one fest! Also, he serves the student community by organising the annual music event called Svanubhava. His other initiatives Sumanasa, Sampradaya and Shabda - have made Carnatic music accessible to all. Out of all, he has explored cinema as a medium that can take Carnatic music to a larger audience with Bombay Jayashri via ‘Maargazhi Raagam’ and ‘One’.

In the 1990s, he was president of the Youth Association for Classical Music, which took Carnatic music to the youth and the public schools. Krishna is the recipient of many awards, including Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Best Outstanding Vocalist by the Music Academy. The musician has been hailed in his citation as “showing that music can indeed be a deeply transformative force in personal lives and society itself.”

“In electing Thodur Madabusi Krishna to receive the 2016 Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership, the board recognises his forceful commitment as artist and advocate to art’s power to heal India’s deep social divisions, breaking barriers of caste and class to unleash what music has to offer not just for some but for all,” it said.

The citation further read, “While much of his work is still ahead of him, he is embarked on an important path. Krishna is resolved to break barriers of caste, class or creed by democratising music, cultivating thought-processes and sensibilities that unite people rather than divide them.”

A musician who adorns several roles

He has a strong unconventional opinion about everything. As a performer, lecturer, speaker, activist and an author, Thodur Madabusi Krishna is one of those rare breed of musicians who is often misunderstood. As a musician with interests in many things like travelling, writing and playing cricket, Krishna has always been a magnetic performer. He is the recipient of many awards, including Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puruskar by Sangeet Natak Akademi and Best Outstanding Vocalist by the Music Academy. The musician has been hailed in his citation as “showing that music can indeed be a deeply transformative force in personal lives and society itself”.

Troubled by plight of manual scavengers

When he was just 18 years old, Bezwada Wilson once locked himself up in a room in his house and wept for almost 20 minutes because he was pained by the plight of manual scavengers. That day he pledged before his family that he will take up a fight to eradicate manual scavenging, said Yesupatham, Wilson’s brother. His first step on the long journey was submitting a memorandum to the now defunct Bharath Gold Mines Ltd authorities appealing to the management to eradicate the manual scavenging in the mining colony where his father also worked. Later, through Safai Karmachari Andolan, he has worked for the welfare of several civic workers.