KASARGOD: I am in a long-term game, a marathon, says maverick Carnatic singer and writer T M Krishna. The game is about shattering the exclusivity and elitism around art forms. “Not just Carnatic music,” he insists.In 2015, he announced he would never perform in the Chennai music season, held in December and January, because — among several reasons — the festival is socially stifling or in other words dominated by Brahmins. He has come a long way from there, turning mundane space into platforms for art and music.
He says he is batting for creating equality in all art forms, not superiority of any one art form. “It is not an evangelical project for me where I want to convert people into Carnatic music lovers,” he says. “I want to see, for example, theyyam and kathakali being treated equally. I want to see Carnatic music and koothu being treated on a par on the same stage.”“If that happens, the communities participating in the art forms will also have equality as people,” says Krishna, who was chosen for the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2016 for bringing ‘social inclusiveness in culture’.
In an effort to ‘integrate all art forms into everyday life’, he started a festival in Urur Olcott Kuppam, a fishing village in Chennai. This is the fourth year of the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha (festival). “We converted a fish market into a cultural space where performances will happen as fish is sold,” he said. Artistes performed parkour on Sunday and Carnatic music on Monday.He spoke to Express on the sidelines of the Sri Thyagaraja Sri Purandara Dasa Sangeeta Aradhana in Kanhangad.
Kerala’s temples played a huge role in taking Carnatic music to the people. “Temples are a religious space. But the temple ground is also a secular space where everybody comes,” he says.But unfortunately, in Tamil Nadu, when the Dravidian Movement started attacking the hegemony of Brahmins, Carnatic music sustained collateral damage. “I think it was a big mistake of the movement,” he says. “If the movement wanted Carnatic music to be owned by every Dravidian, it should have taken ownership of it. When it rejected it, the Brahmin community further strengthened its hold on it.”
Krishna says people ask him how many Dalits he has trained because he keeps writing and talking about inclusive art. “What if I tell them I have trained one Dalit. Is my work over? Can I pack my bags and go home?” he asks. The point is being missed. “It is not about training a few people. But about a change in the culture and a change in the mindset,” he says. “It is not a short-term initiative but rather a long-term game.”
Having said that, the virtuoso says he is teaching Carnatic music to students in five government-run schools in Chennai. “They are from diverse social backgrounds,” he says. He is also working on a mentorship programme for talented people. He is organising 12 to 13 nadhaswaram concerts for young talents to revive the art, the instrument and also to give a larger participation for the community. Krishna says he is implementing these projects with the help of the sabhas. “Though I don’t perform in the sabhas now, I work with them. I am an ‘insider-outsider’,” he says. “That’s how we can bring in the change.”
Krishna, who is also a prolific writer, says everything he writes is a ‘gift of music’ to him.
“So those who tell me not to write or speak, only sing, have to realise I write and speak only because I sing. If they want me to stop writing and speaking, they should also be ready for me to stop singing,” he says.