News Brief
Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai Extends Support To Carnatic Musicians Opposing 'Sangita Kalanidhi' Award to T M Krishna
Tamil Nadu BJP president K Annamalai.
Tamil Nadu BJP chief K Annamalai on Friday (22 March) came out in support of the renowned Carnatic musicians who are opposing the Madras Music Academy's decision to grant 'Sangita Kalanidhi' award to T M Krishna.
"The Music Academy, revered as the Temple of Carnatic Music and spiritual consciousness for more than nine decades, is under the threat of disintegration by divisive forces detrimental to the sanctity of the organisation," Annamalai said in a post on X.
He added that the Tamil Nadu BJP stands in solidarity with all the eminent artists of the Music Academy who "have collectively raised their voices against the inimical approach of the present authority of the academy".
"We stand with eminent musicians Ranjani-Gayatri, Trichur brothers, Chitravina Ravikiran, Harikatha exponents Dushyanth Sridar, Vishaka Hari and many others who strive to maintain the sanctity of the pristine institution," he said.
"The last refuge for proponents of Defunct propaganda & ideology of hate & division cannot be the Temple of Carnatic Music!," he added.
The controversy arose after the Madras Music Academy announced T M Krishan as the winner of this year's 'Sangita Kalanidhi', a prestigious award that the academy bestows on Carnatic musicians.
Opposition the academy's decision, world-renowned Carnatic vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri, known as Vidushi sisters, announced their withdrawal from participating in the Music Academy’s conference 2024.
The Vidushi sisters accused T M Krishna of causing "immense damage to the Carnatic music world" and "willfully and happily" stomping over the sentiments of the music community.
Following the announcement by Ranjani and Gayatri, many famous personalities in the Carnatic music circuit including Trichur brothers, Chitravina Ravikiran, Harikatha exponents Dushyanth Sridar and others also opposed the Academy's decision.
In their statement, the Vidushi sisters said that "It is dangerous to overlook Mr T M Krishna’s glorification of a figure like EVR."
They criticised EVR for openly proposing a genocide of ‘brahmins’, repeatedly calling/abusing every woman of this community with "vile profanity" and relentlessly working to "normalise filthy language in social discourse."
In response to Vidushi sisters' statement, the Academy's president N Murali said that the Vidushi sisters' announcement had "vituperative content with unwarranted and slanderous assertions and insinuations on the verge of defamation."
The controversy took a political turn when DMK MP Kanimozhi Karunanidhi jumped in by supporting T M Krishna and said, "The hate he is receiving for his social beliefs or his engagement with Periyar is uncalled for."
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