Following the announcement of Carnatic vocal duo Ranjani and Gayatri’s boycott of the upcoming music festival at Music Academy in protest against vocalist TM Krishna receiving the Sangita Kalanidhi award, academy president N Murali addressed the situation going offensive on them.
Veiled threat of defamation in N Murali's response to RaGa @ranjanigayatri
Will that be the course Music Academy will take? I am sure pic.twitter.com/8lQ4sBUmGy— Arun Subramanian (@ArunBytes) March 21, 2024
Murali stated, “The choice of Sangita Kalanidhi is the prerogative of the academy. The decision was made after careful deliberation, with the sole criterion being musical excellence demonstrated over a significant and sustained career.” He further expressed disappointment, noting, “They posted the letter sent to me on social media without even waiting for the response.” Murali conveyed his formal reply to the sisters on 21 March 2024, emphasizing, “It is not just discourteous but also raises doubts about the intentions.”
The academy’s reply, reported by the Times of India, highlighted its shock at the “vituperative content” of the sisters’ letter. The letter stated that the letter was “replete with unwarranted and slanderous assertions and insinuations verging on defamation, and its vicious tone against a respected senior fellow-musician.”
The Academy defended its decision to award TM Krishna, stating, “This year the executive committee of the academy chose T M Krishna for this accolade based on his excellence in music over a long career, with no extraneous factors influencing our choice.”
(with inputs from TOI)
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