Listening to TM Krishna speak is very much like listening to him sing. His tawny eyes sparkle with confidence. His vibrant voice exudes boundless energy and enthusiasm. His ideas, reflections, memories come cascading down in breathless pace very much like his effervescent ‘kalpana swara’s. The passion he brings into a conversation is same as the passion he brings into his ‘kacheri’s. Well, passion for life and for perfection – that’s the stuff Krishna is made of.
“I love economics and management. If I were not a musician, I would have studied in a business school and gone into management.” When I heard Krishna say this, I was overwhelmed with pride even as I instantly threw a compassionate glance on the corporate world. To him, business acumen is a family inheritance and a zest for perfection is first nature. That Krishna would have excelled in any field is anybody’s guess. Fortunately for us, it is music that stands to gain. Youngest among the new generation musicians, Krishna is easily one of the top ranking vocalists of the country today.
Krishna’s initiation into Carnatic music began at the age of six under the tutelage of Sri Seetharama Sarma. “My Guru was a tough task master and would not be satisfied with anything but the best,” he says. He later received advanced Pallavi training under Sri Chengalpattu Ranganathan. Recounting his memorable experience at the pallavi workshop, Krishna says, “He would make me sing 50 ‘avarthanams’ of ‘Neravel’, non-stop. Midway, if he found me repetitive, he would gently say, ‘Come on, ‘Singha kutti’ (meaning lion cub) Start again.’ And by the time I finished, I would be dead,” he adds with a smile. In retrospect, Krishna gratefully acknowledges his gurus for inculcating that discipline in him. “Today, if I can go to a concert without planning, it is because of the discipline and clarity of thought they have given me,” he says.
Music continued as something that he ‘also-did’ until Krishna came into the fold of Youth Association for Carnatic Music (YACM). YACM was not just a platform for young artistes. It was a youth movement. “The most remarkable thing YACM did was it made Carnatic music ‘fun’. I would pillion ride with Vijay Shiva, Sanjay and Unni to attend concerts,” he fondly recalls. Around 1992, as a teenage lad, Krishna gave a couple of concerts at YACM, where he won appreciation from senior musicians and encouragement from friends in the music circle. “That was when I felt respected as an artiste,” he admits. By the time Krishna was in his third year of college, he had decided to make music his life and career.
Krishna’s most glorious moment came when, after listening to him sing, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer offered to teach him. “Being with him was an experience by itself,” he recalls. “Mama was a very practical man; never caught up in his own times. He was always in touch with reality. He was such a fun person to be with. If I didn’t go to class for a few days, mama would ring me up and say, ‘This is an old man here. Is TM Krishnamachari there?’ (Krishna was named after his grand-uncle TT Krishnamachari and Semmangudi would often address him like that) The next moment, I would run to his house,” he says.
Admired by puritans for his ‘classicism’, Krishna is also a youth icon who brings in original and fresh perspectives into his art. “Tradition and innovation are not mutually exclusive entities,” he points out. “Tradition is fluid, like a bubble. You can stay within the bubble and still push the boundaries. The problem is that we often think tradition is a box and we get stuck.”
An artiste with a strong sense of social responsibility, Krishna has co-founded and is actively associated with many organisations that promote music and provide music education to talented, underprivileged children. “Two children we have supported are doing very well. I am eagerly looking forward to seeing them perform at the Academy,” he says beaming. Presently he is working on the monumental Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini audio project.
One of Krishna’s biggest passions is to make more and more people listen to Carnatic music. “It is my responsibility,” he feels. “Nowadays there are so many other things happening. So it is necessary for us to keep presenting classical music at every opportunity. That way we spread awareness.” But in his enthusiasm to take music to the people, he also makes sure that there are no compromises.
Well, Krishna’s music says it all. Absolutely no compromises. Integrity, he believes, is the most important quality of an artiste and to him, his art is always above everything else. “When you sing, it is just music. The artiste ceases to exist. It is like standing in front of the Himalayas. You are so enraptured and you exclaim, ‘Oh my God, this is beautiful!’”
