In the year 2016 he was awarded with the Ramon Magsaysay Award 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 to unleash what music has to offer not just for some but for all”.[1] As a vocalist, he has made a large number of innovations in both the style and substance of his concerts, thereby inviting controversy from some quarters.
Krishna was born in Madras (now Chennai) on 22 January 1976, the son of T.M. Rangachari and his wife Prema Rangachari.[3] His mother and maternal uncle Dr. Sriram Subramaniam founded and ran a school named Vidya Vanam for tribal and underprivileged students in Anaikatti, Tamil Nadu.[4] Krishna is the grand nephew of Congress politician and freedom fighter T. T. Krishnamachari (former Indian finance minister and industrialist), who was also one of the founding members of the Madras Music Academy.[5]
Krishna is an alumnus of The School (Krishnamurti Foundation of India), Chennai. Krishna received his B.A. degree in economics from Vivekananda College, University of Madras. He is married to Sangeetha Sivakumar, a reputed carnatic musician[6] and they have two daughters.
Career
T.M. Krishna sings at Kollam, Kerala, 2021
Both of Krishna's parents had deep interest in the arts, especially Carnatic music. His mother had received music lessons in her childhood in the typical south Indian style, and had even taken a degree in Carnatic Music.[5] Krishna's parents ensured that he received exposure to the classical arts from a young age. They arranged for him to receive music lessons from a very young age. Krishna began his musical training under Bhagavathula Seetharama Sharma. He later underwent special Ragam Thanam Pallavi grooming under Chingleput Ranganathan and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.
His music is often appraised as being soulful and full of 'raga bhava'. Among his many renditions, some of the most popular among his listeners include 'Jambupathe' in Yamunakalyani and 'Manavinala' in Nalinakanthi. His music during the last decade was reputed for his powerful, deep voice and his ability to sing rapid swaras in many rare ragas. He now shows a focus on Neraval, an improvisational form which he believes has been distorted over the ages. He is also famous for his 'innovations' in the method he presents his concerts, one of the primary issues that purists have being that he renders varnams (traditionally introductory pieces) in the middle of a concert. He is also working towards a project in which Dikshithar compositions from the Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini are rendered exactly according to their notation in the book.[7]
Krishna speaks and writes about a wide range of issues, not confined to the cultural sphere. His interests span the breadth of leftwing activism, be it the environment, the caste system, social reform, religious reform, combating communalism, innovation in classical music and so on. He has started and is involved in many organizations whose work is spread across the spectrum of music and culture. Recently, he has spoken out against the revocation of Article 370,[8] and the destruction of statues of Lenin, Ambedkar, Gandhi and Periyar.[9]
Krishna is part of the team of activists that organizes the Urur-Olcott Kuppam Festival in Chennai and the Svanubhava initiative in Chennai.[10][11] He has been part of inspiring collaborations, such as the Chennai Poromboke Paadal with environmentalist Nityanand Jayaraman.[12] He has collaborated for performances with the Jogappas (transgender musicians) and has brought on to the concert stage the poetry of Perumal Murugan.[13] He also speaks in various conferences and academic institutions, including Harvard University, Chennai Mathematical Institute, the Indian Institutes of Technology, and the Indian Institutes of Management.
Among his awards are the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award (2016) in recognition of ‘his forceful commitment as artist and advocate to art’s power to heal India’s deep social divisions’, the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration (2017) for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country, and the Professor V. Aravindakshan Memorial Award (2017) for connecting Carnatic music with the common man.[14]
Sebastian And Sons: A brief history of Mrdangam makers. In his most recent book, T.M. Krishna talks about the integrity of the Mrdangam on the Karnatik stage and the Dalit Christian communities involved in the making of the percussion instrument. ISBN9389152186[16][17]
Reshaping Art (2018). T.M. Krishna raises questions about how art is made, performed and disseminated, and addressing such issues as caste, class and gender within society while exploring the contours of democracy, culture and learning.[18][19] The book was published by Aleph Book Company.
Katrinile Karainda Tuyar (2018). Krishna's long-form essay 'MS understood' was translated into Tamil and published as a book ‘Katrinile Karainda Tuyar’ by Kalachuvadu Publications.
MS understood (2017). His long-form essay 'MS understood', for The Caravan was featured in The Caravan Book of Profiles published by Penguin in 2017, as one of their “twelve definitive profiles.”[20]
A Southern Music: The Carnatic Story (2013). Published in 2013 by Harper Collins, the book was released by Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen and Chairman of Kalakshetra, Gopalkrishna Gandhi.[21] It discusses the philosophy, aesthetics, sociology and history of Carnatic music. The book was awarded the 2014 Tata Literature Award for Best First Book in the non-fiction category.[22]
Voices Within (2007). Carnatic singers Bombay Jayashri and T.M. Krishna along with Mythili Chandrasekhar, got together to publish the first-ever coffee table book on Carnatic Music in January 2007. The book is a labour of love and pays tributes to seven Carnatic music maestros. The first copy of the book was received by the former President of India, Abdul Kalam at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. This book was later translated in Tamil and published by Ananda Vikatan Publications in the year 2011.
Ashis Nandy: A Life in Dissent (2018). Krishna has contributed one chapter to this book, which contains several essays by various people, all written in praise of the Indian sociologist Ashis Nandy. The book is a reflection on Ashis Nandy's life work as a thinker.[23][24]
Articles and lectures
Krishna also frequently writes on topics ranging from music (including its practice, musicians, history and future) to society, culture, politics and religion. His articles have been published across most leading Indian newspapers and magazines such as The Indian Express, The Hindu, The Hindustan Times, Outlook, India Today, and Open, as well as several online portals such as Scroll, The Wire, DailyO, and Firstpost. Krishna has also delivered lectures at a variety of institutions, including leading universities across the world. Noteworthy among these lectures are:
In 2016, along with Gita Jayaraj, Dr A. Mangai, S. Nandagopal, and Baradwaj Rangan, Krishna taught a semester long course called Indian Art in Context at Chennai Mathematical Institute.[30]
The Chennai Poromboke Paadal music video was released on 14 January 2017 on YouTube. An initiative by T.M. Krishna and environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman - the Tamil song was written by Kaber Vasuki and composed by R. K. Shriramkumar, and the video was directed by Rathindran Prasad. The video featured Krishna performing in and around the Ennore creek and highlighted the environmental damage done to the creek by the power plant in that region, Ennore Thermal Power Station. The music video trended on YouTube India for a week after its release becoming the first Carnatic song to trend on YouTube. The song's title contained the word "Poromboke" which formerly meant land of the commons but has become a popular swear word. The music video also garnered attention for combining Tamil slang dialect with carnatic music. The song is a raga-malika and is based on the ragas Anandabhairavi, Begada, Hamir Kalyani, Devagandhari, Salagabhairavi and Sindhubhairavi.[31][32]
Krishna collaborated with rap and gaana kuthu artists in this multi-genre music video in protest of multinational Unilever's double standards and its refusal to apply the globally accepted environmental standards in India. Directed by film maker Rathindra Prasad, this was a second video after the original Kodaikanal Won't video which protested Unilever's 2001 dumping of toxic mercury in the South Indian hill town of Kodaikanal, which is said to have poisoned its workers and the forest.[34]
Chennai Kalai Theru Vizha (formerly Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha)
Krishna was part of the team that started this festival with an aim to heal art, and help art heal by opening art and artists to new audiences and different environments. The festival made its debut in January 2015 at Urur-Olcott Kuppam in Chennai. In 2016, it was designed also as a celebration to help relieve some of the trauma suffered by people hurt by the 2015 floods, and as a thanksgiving to the many who assisted with relief, rescue and rehabilitation efforts. Today, the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha is now Chennai Kalai Theruvizha, a new avatar that will begin exploring new locations around the city in collaboration with local communities.
Activism
T.M. Krishna speaks in Jay Kisan image exhibition at Kollam, 2021
T.M. Krishna is an activist against caste discrimination. He also advocates for environmental activism and LGBTQ+ rights. He received media spotlight when he boycotted the Chennai Music Season citing caste favouritism in the Carnatic Music system.[35] He was involved with various organisations to bring Carnatic Music across the rural areas and to support underprivileged artists.[1]
Political views
He has been a strong critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Sangh Parivar. He accused them of launching an unrelenting offense of hate and violence against minorities, their cultures, identities and their rights as India's equal citizens. He also alleged that they have made people believe that Hindus are under threat and have made mostly Muslims and Dalits as their main targets.[36][37] In August 2018, Krishna received threats from right-wing groups after he sang Christmas hymns. He announced that he would release one Carnatic song about Jesus and Allah every month.[38]
In April 2019, he asked the people of Kerala to vote wisely and not to believe in the alleged misinformation propagated by the BJP that Hinduism is not safe in Kerala.[39]
Krishna is a critic of Israeli policy.[40][41] In 2022, Krishna signed onto the Musicians For Palestine pledge, refusing to perform in Israel following the 2021 Israel–Palestine crisis.[42]
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