Now that I have heard TM Krishna at an utterly memorable concert in Delhi on November 17, I understand why a well-known figure like him agreed to release that book - the theme was composite culture and syncretic traditions across the country. (Photo: lapse in knowledge is particularly shameful as Krishna was the individual who released a Tamil translation of my first book, In Good Faith, at a modest ceremony that was part of a festival of vernacular languages in Delhi in 2015. Krishna's eclectic and broad-minded musical choices have stirred up rage. With the context of Hindustani music as the backdrop, I did not understand why some people were so angry with him. I do not know much about the history of Carnatic music or even about TM Krishna’s own battles with those who control the classical music scene in Chennai. I can give you a laundry list of poets, writers, musicians, but let’s move to another point. Muslims have celebrated the culture of the land - be it of Hindu origin or Islamic. But it is emphatically not so when we come to the world of arts, letters, music and poetry. The cleric, who often doubles as politician, is the stereotype rammed down our throats. This is a particularly important point to drive home in the context of culture wars, as it is the Muslim community that is accused of being insular and conservative. Forget the Hindi cinema example of Mohammad Rafi belting out the most exquisite bhajans, written by Shakeel Badayuni, set to music by Naushad, there are any number of Muslim classical musicians who have expressed high praise and devotion to Hindu gods.īollywood has a long and glorious history of Muslim artistes celebrating the Hindu divine. In the world of Hindustani classical music and Hindi cinema, we crossed that hump years ago - actually, it was not even a hump. In the times when expressing a dissenting opinion mean threats, vandalising venues and cancellation of events, Krishna’s performance was loud enough to reverberate a rhythm of resistance.I must confess to being utterly confused about why TM Krishna was being attacked for singing Muslim and Christian devotional songs. “There is no need to bow down to the pressure by some random elements”, Himanshu C R, one of the organisers said. The organisers, however, as per a report in ThePrint, are planning to go ahead with the event. Krishna is scheduled to hold a concert and music workshop on “Rare Krithis of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshithar” on 22–23 November at Gana Bharathi in Mysuru’s Kuvempunagar area. Starting with an all-denominational prayer that Mahatma Gandhi had instituted at the Sabarmati Ashram, Krishna’s performance included a Malayalam rendition in praise of Jesus Christ, an adaptation of Nagoor Hanifa’s Islamic Tamil song, Kabir, Tukaram, Basava, Perumal Murugan and much more.Īround the same time when AAI decided to postpone Krishna’s performance, the organisers of another event hosting T M Krishna also received threat calls. He struck a mesmerising chord against the on-going cultural barbarism that the country is subjected to. I will not speak much.” And while Krishna refused to talk about politics, his music spoke for him. Krishna said before commencing his performance, “The spirit of the day has transformed over the few days and keeping with the spirit, I will try and see if we can see multiple voices, languages, traditions, religion in the concert. Politics and art, thus shared the same stage at the Delhi government’s event, “Awam ki Awaz”. It’s important to maintain the dignity of the art and artists”, Sisodia said. I have invited T M Krishna to perform on November 17 for the people of Delhi. “No artist should ever be denied an opportunity to perform. Responding to his appeal, Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, stepped in and invited Krishna to perform. The threats could not budge T M Krishna who made a public announcement asking for a stage, anywhere in Delhi on November 17, for him to come and sing. The evening was special and the performance important because T M Krishna was performing in Delhi three days after the Airports Authority of India (AAI) “postponed” an event featuring the Karnatic singer, owing to a backlash from right-wing trolls who called Krishna an “anti-national” “Urban Naxal”. On November 17, when people gathered at the Garden of Five Senses in Saket, it was not just for their love of music, but also in solidarity with a particular kind of politics. “Politics can be strengthened by music, but music has a potency that defies politics.” (Nelson Mandela)