News Brief
Here Are The Renowned Carnatic Musicians Opposing Madras Music Academy Award To T M Krishna
T M Krishna/ Wikimedia
After the Music Academy announced that its prestigious Sangita Kalanidhi award 2024 would be bestowed on singer T M Krishna, controversy erupted last Sunday (17 March).
The decision subsequently triggered a wave of discontent within the Carnatic music community, with many well known faces announcing that they were withdrawing from participating in Music Academy’s annual conference.
Some of the prominent names in the Carnatic music circuit, including vocalists Ranjani-Gayatri and the Trichur Brothers, religious discourse specialist Dushyanth Sridhar, Harikatha exponent Vishakha Hari have posted on social media that they cannot share the same stage as T M Krishna as their ideologies are opposite to his and alleged that his views have “caused immense damage to the Carnatic music world”.
They have also announced that they are withdrawing from performing at the Music Academy during the upcoming Margazhi music festival.
Adding to the controversy, renowned Carnatic musician Chitravina Ravikiran and former recipient of the Sangita Kalanidhi award in 2017, has declared his intention to return the prestigious honor.
“I will arrange for the “birudu patra (citation), medal and award money to be returned as early as possible,” he said.
"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,” Ravikiran added.
Adding to the dissent, the family of late mridangist Palghat T S Mani Iyer, who received the award in 1966, also announced their decision to return the accolade in protest against the selection of Krishna.
The family emphasized their opposition to this year's choice and sought guidance on the process for returning the award.
