CHENNAI: Taking the lead in addressing sexual harassment allegations against some prominent musicians, the Madras Music Academy, one of the most prestigious institutions of Carnatic music, has decided to exclude seven persons from its list of performers for this year Marghazi season in December.
The seven artistes are regular performers: N Ravikiran, OS Thyagarajan, Mannargudi A Easwaran, Srimushnam V Raja Rao, Nagai Sriram, R Ramesh and Thiruvarur Vaidyanathan.
The academy told Express that it officially informed the seven artistes of its decision on Thursday. Several artists from the Carnatic music circle had been accused of inappropriate behaviour by survivors who named their preparators in the raging #MeToo movement.
ALSO READ | AR Rahman responds to Me Too movement
N Murali, president of the academy, said that this decision was proof of the academy's zero-tolerance towards sexual harassment and was made to express its solidarity with the survivors of the #MeToo movement. "No distinction was made when this decision was taken either based on seniority or prominence of the artistes who have been accused of sexual harassment. They were all treated under the same yardstick. We had already finalized the list of performers for the Marghazi season in April. But after we came to know about the development, we immediately wanted to act on the issue and alter the list," he said.
When asked if the seven artistes would be allowed to perform in the academy after December, Murali said that this would be their next topic of discussion and that they would come to a decision only after the season ended.
During a public consultation and hearing organised by an activist collective Ek Potlee Ret Ki last week, most of the above mentioned names had featured in the list of 95 alleged preparators announced by the collective. Well-known Bharatanatyam artiste and actor Swarnamalya Ganesh, who initiated the hearing, welcomed the academy's gesture and appreciated them for taking cognizance of the issue. "Without further delay, the academy must also set up an active internal complaints committee to address such issues among the Carnatic community. There are many more personalities who have been named by the survivors for their inappropriate behaviour. These seven artists will continue to perform in other places. More stringent deterring steps must be taken to ensure a safe environment," she said.
Recently, several young Carnatic musicians from across the world came together and renowned ones such as Ranjani and Gayatri, TM Krishna, Sriram Parthasarathy and Bombay Jayashri signed an open document requesting constitution of a body to address such issues.