The Madras High Court is currently hearing a petition filed by V Srinivasan, grandson of Carnatic music legend MS Subbulakshmi, seeking to prevent the prestigious MS Subbulakshmi Award from being conferred on renowned musician TM Krishna. The award, instituted by the Madras Music Academy in 2005, will be presented to Krishna during the Academy’s annual music festival in December.
Srinivasan’s petition argued that Krishna has made disrespectful and derogatory remarks about his grandmother after her death, and therefore, honouring him with the MS Subbulakshmi award would be inappropriate. He cited incidents where Krishna allegedly referred to Subbulakshmi as “the greatest hoax of the twentieth century” and a “saintly Barbie doll.” Srinivasan contended that Krishna’s statements have caused distress to Subbulakshmi’s family and that conferring the MS Subbulakshmi award on him would be paradoxical, given his critical stance on her legacy.
The MS Subbulakshmi Award is presented annually alongside the Sangita Kalanidhi Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Madras Music Academy. The petition further argues that the award contradicts Subbulakshmi’s will, which stipulated that no memorial, trust, or foundation be established in her name.
In response, the Madras Music Academy clarified that the award recipient is chosen transparently, and Subbulakshmi’s family has not objected since the award’s inception. The Academy emphasized that the governing body does not influence the selection of awardees.
Justice RMT Teekaa Raman, presiding over the case, adjourned the hearing until 21 October 2024, allowing Krishna to file his response.
Krishna, a Magsaysay Award-winning musician and activist, is known for his efforts to bring in EVR’s ideologies into the world of Carnatic music. It is noteworthy that in 2024 several musicians registered their protest to this designation, some even returned their own Sangita Kalanidhi titles.
Artistes Who Registered Protest Against TM Krishna’s Designation Decision
Musician sisters duo Ranjani Gayatri withdrew from participating in the highly anticipated Music Academy conference slated this year. Additionally, they have also pulled out from presenting their scheduled concert on 25 December 2024. Following this, several music exponents and artists put forth their stances on the issue.
Vedic scholar and Upanyasika Dushyanth Sridhar posted on his social media handles that he had conveyed to the Madras Music Academy that he would not be performing on 1 January 2025 (after the sadas).
Hari Katha exponent Smt Vishakha Hari also shared her thoughts on the issue. She wrote on her Facebook page, “By Guru’s grace, I have been following the principle of “Mind your own business and stick to your core values and principles”. But this time, I have decided to move away from that stance as certain actions in the recent past threaten my core values. This year’s Sangeetha Kalanidhi designated awardee has previously engaged in a lot of slandering, hurting many’s sentiments tremendously and willfully. He has not been a regular performer in the institution for years, either. I (as many others) believe that values and virtues are as important as the music – as what Sri Thyagaraja, Sri Muthuswamy Dikshithar, Syama Sastri– our beloved Music Trinity also believed and lived by. This whole journey of Nadopasana is intended towards divinity. I wonder if the late Sangeetha Kalanidhis like Ariyakkudi or Semmangudi or Palghat Mani Iyer would accept this decision if alive today. What would their stance be? Also, would even the present Sangeetha Kalanidhis accept this decision? Awards may come and go. But setting the right role models for posterity is what is important.”
Chitravina Ravikiran announced that he was returning the Sangita Kalanidhi award conferred upon him in 2017. On his official X handle, he wrote, “RETURNING SANGITA KALANIDHI AWARD from ACADEMY: I’ve taken this step after careful consideration as principles much larger than all of us are at stake. However, I’ll always remain deeply grateful to the org for its role in my career from childhood”
Trichur Brothers, in a post on their official X handle wrote, “Formal announcement that we are pulling out of the Annual Conference 2024 of The Music Academy, Madras, for obvious reasons. To participate in a conference presided by Mr TM Krishna would make us outright hypocrites in our own eyes.
Sincerely,
Trichur Brothers”
About TM Krishna
TM Krishna belongs to a family that boasts of a hoary and extremely wealthy past. His grand-uncle is TT Krishnamachari, son of a Madras High Court judge TT Rangachari during the British Raj.
TM Krishna is known more for his ‘activism’ than his music. He often courts controversy with his leftist views and plays second fiddle to the tunes of Dravidianists. He had also participated in the blatantly anti-Hindu global conference titled “Dismantling Global Hindutva“. Before that, he had felt sad when the 26/11 Mumbai attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab was hanged.
He has hailed EVR and has even sung songs revering him. Recently, he released a song titled “Sindhikka Sonnavar Periyar,” which means “EVR told us to think,” in contrast to what EV Ramasamy Naicker told his Dravidar Kazhagam followers. EV Ramasamy Naicker always wanted his followers not to think and just follow his orders like a military organization.
He had also written a hitjob piece on the revered carnatic singer Bharat Ratna MS Subbulakshmi for rabidly leftist rag The Caravan. He has even distorted Carnatic music to display his secular credentials by singing Islamic songs in Carnatic tunes.
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