Indian Maestro, TM Krishna, Encourages Unity

TM Krishna has critiqued the south Indian classical music industry for being under the dominant preserve of the upper-caste Brahmin community. He wants spaces where the arts of all communities can come together.

An interview in the Indian Express reads, in part, as follows:

Your announcement about staying away from singing during the music season in Chennai this year has created quite a controversy. Some say you are breaking the mould, others accuse you of disrespecting classical music itself. What prompted your decision?

Carnatic music exists beyond festivals or the actions of an individual such as myself. I wouldn't say I am breaking a mould, but I am certainly making a break, for myself. I feel very deeply about music and I am, after deep reflection, taking a step out of respect for music. I have never, in any statement, said that the Chennai sabhas or the December season need to be discarded. I recognise that they are an integral part of the music environment but I am severely critical of a lot of things that go on within the present musical environment. I recognise that by having gone along 'silently' with those (discrepancies) over the decades, I am complicit in it. If some think I have condemned the music season, then they have not read me correctly, I have actually condemned myself. Of course, many don't agree with me, and that is wonderful, because it allows for multiple narratives and discussions.

Thodur Madabusi Krishna's three-initialled renown as 'TMK' comes from his widely acknowledged stature as a vocalist in the Karnatik tradition. His musicality eludes standard analyses. Uncommon in his rendition of music and original in his interpretation of it, Krishna is at once strong and subtle, manifestly traditional and stunningly innovative.

He studied at the Krishnamurti Foundation's The School in Chennai, and Jiddu Krishnmurti's philosophy of 'pathlessness' has unmistakably influenced Krishna's un-preconditioned journeys over the Karnatik continent. Krishna's musical grounding was honed into mastery under the tutelage of Vidvans Seetharama Sarma, Chingleput Ranganathan and the legendary Semmangudi Srinivasier.

Krishna's pen is sharp, his words blunt. He is a public speaker and writer on human choices, dilemmas, concerns and matters musical. He has started and is involved in organisations whose work is spread across the whole spectrum of art and culture including research, documentation, education, activism and supports artists from economically and socially marginalised communities. He has co-authored Voices Within: Carnatic Music - Passing on an Inheritance, a book dedicated to the greats of Karnatik music. His most recent book, A Southern Music, published by Harper Collins in December 2013, is a first-of-its-kind work on the Carnatic tradition and was awarded the Tata Literature award for the best debut non-fiction book for the year 2014. He has received the Ramon Magsayay Award (2016) for his forceful commitment as artist and advocate to art's power to heal India's deep social divisions, breaking barriers of caste and class.

T.M. Krishna (Thodur Madabusi Krishna, born in 1976) is a Carnatic music vocalist. Hailing from a family of music connoisseurs, he was exposed to the south Indian classical music at an early age. His first concert was at the Spirit of Youth series organized by the Music Academy, Chennai (India). T.M. Krishna was born in Chennai on January 22, 1976. His father was a businessman in the automobile industry and his mother has founded several educational institutions, most recently a school for tribal children (Vidyavanam) which caters to over 300 children.

Krishna's mother learnt from Krishna's guru (teacher) B. Seetharama Sharma who on noticing Krishna's interest in music, started teaching him when he was six years old. Krishna had his schooling in The School KFI, an institution founded and run by the Krishnamurti Foundation which influenced his perceptions and outlook towards life, a fact mentioned by him in various interviews[citation needed]. He received his B.A. degree in economics from Vivekananda College, Madras. Married to Sangeetha Sivakumar, who is also a Carnatic musician, on November 7, 1997, he has two daughters by name Arya and Anantha, and lives in Mylapore.[citation needed]

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