Arrest
The tactics of evasion adopted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in side-stepping repeated summons by the Enforcement Directorate have boomeranged on him. It is an irony that an erstwhile member of the Anna Hazare movement has deviated from the path shown by his mentor.
B. Gurumurthy,
Bengaluru
Title, talent, responses
The reactions by some well-known musicians in the field of Carnatic music to the title of Sangita Kalanidhi having been bestowed on fellow musician T.M. Krishna, are in bad taste. The President, The Music Academy, Madras, N. Murali has been courteous enough to issue a clarification that no extraneous factors were involved in the decision to confer the title/award on Mr. Krishna. Mr. Krishna has the right to voice his opinion in a democratic country. As the saying goes. no individual is greater than the organisation. To say that it is the dream of every artiste to perform in the annual conference of the prestigious Academy will be the understatement of the century. The Sangita Kalanidhi is an ultimate honour and the whole fraternity is proud of the recipient and the giver.
K.V. Vasudevan,
Chennai
That some artistes have decided to withdraw from participating in the Academy’s 2024 conference while others have decided to return awards is not in good taste. As clarified by the President of the Music Academy, there were no extraneous considerations that were instrumental in the title/award decision. No individual is greater than the institution.
Sundaresan Suresh,
Chennai
The allegations that Mr. Krishna has “vilified the Carnatic music fraternity” cannot be the reason to oppose the selection. The Ramon Magsaysay award winner has been working towards creating a more inclusive egalitarian space for music.
R. Sivakumar,
Chennai
It is unfortunate that the Music Academy should hurt the feelings of its rasikas. Mr. Krishna is a very accomplished musician but he has scant respect for the rich traditions established by Carnatic music stalwarts.
Kangayam R. Narasimhan,
Chennai
