A man called TMK

“This award is not about me. It recognises the need for cultures and the arts to be unbound. I come from the Carnatic music world but I feel strongly that all art forms should be shared with grace and love…”

This excerpt is from a letter that T M Krishna wrote from Europe when I congratulated him for winning the prestigious Magsaysay Award. I am sure that he will have the same kind of response to the prestigious ‘Sangitha Kalanidhi’ award given to him by the Music Academy, Madras. 

Unassuming and modest, yet confident of his own strengths as an artiste, Krishna’s response does not show indifference or arrogance. It is simply the reaction of a musician who has recognised that his art is greater than himself. An artist who has travelled a long route -- for most of the time alone -- in an art form that has brought him more brickbats than bouquets, has honed his art to perfection. Brickbats for the maverick in him that scoffs at applause, despises histrionics, sings for his own pleasure and not “to please others” as he candidly announced once on stage. His outspoken views on music and other matters have brought him angry public responses. Although his music, moulded and perfected to a rare art experience, takes his listeners to another world. This is where the artiste in Krishna takes over and carries you with him to unknown destinations. I have always felt a little dazed after a TMK concert.  

“It is the musician in me that makes me write, speak and do,” says Krishna. We may add that it is the musician in him that makes him write, talk and do things that may appear odd and even annoying to others. He calmly declared on stage once, “I do not sing to please others. My idea is never to please.” To prove this, he continues to rile at the very gods who inspire his music. It is not Rama who created those glorious outbursts of a Thyagaraja or a Bhadrachala Ramadasu. It was not the god Krishna who inspired “Jagadhodharana…” For TMK, all this is purely fictional. Any object – even a bottle of liquor -- can inspire music, he asserted once on stage. And then sang “Rama, nee samaana evaru…” to melt the hearts of his listeners. He will scoff at all the gods, including the god Krishna and then sing “Jagadhodharana…”, when his music turns into sheer magic. 

Krishna deserves the present award for things other than his music, too. He has taken his art to schools, where he encourages children to sing. Children who may not have the opportunity to appear in glittering sabhas despite their talent. My favourite piece to listen to  the chorus of childish voices by kids who are not privileged is them singing “Muddugare Yashodha…” with  their teacher! Or, the Jogappas, who are shunned by an unthinking society, perform an entire kutcheri with Krishna at the reputed Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru.
The entire programme, with Krishna performing with the socially shunned artistes, at a highly respected centre of science, was something which only TMK could have pulled off with such elan. 

He exposes a hypocritical society by his actions. The bias where even the arts are enclosed within narrowminded walls is the hateful thing that Krishna wants to wipe out through his music. He will sing “Krishna nee begane baaro…” in the auditorium of a church. Or, “Varughalaamo, Ayya” to an elite audience at the Music Academy.  He does not mind disturbing the artistes on stage or members of the audience by creating a scene if the occasion demands it. Like that evening in Washington when the audience was treated to one of his quarrels with the organisers who introduced Arun Prakash and Sreeram Kumar as his “accompanists.” Krishna could not swallow this insult to his team and started the concert only after the organisers apologised. He may create a scene in a Ramanavami concert or throw a tantrum because the stage was not to his liking. Or the sound system was flawed. Or the seating arrangements were inadequate for the artistes. He would insist that all labels be removed from water bottles and other stage equipment. His music was not there to promote someone’s business! 

A TMK concert can come up with shocks and surprises. When he hears that there are crowds out there listening because there was no space inside the auditorium, he insists that all doors be unlocked, more chairs be provided. He even invites the crowd to sit on the stage with him. TMK has taken over, leaving organisers in shock. But that is not surprising or unusual.