TM Krishna conferred Sangeetha Kalanidhi title

TM Krishna received the Sangeetha Kalanidhi Award from David Shulman, Chairman, Renée Lang Professor of Humanistic Studies at the Academy of Music in Chennai on January 1, 2025 at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem. Music Academy President N. Let’s watch Murli. , Photo Courtesy: SR Raghunathan

Renowned Carnatic musician TM Krishna was honored with the title of Sangeet Kalanidhi 2024 by Professor David Shulman, President of the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Renee Lange Professor of Humanistic Studies and former Professor of Indian Studies and Comparative Religion, at the 98th Conference and Concert – Sadas, Jerusalem. was awarded. The traditional oriental convocation ceremony of the Academy of Music in Chennai on Wednesday.

Parasala Ravi and Geeta Raja were honored with the title of Sangeeta Kalacharya and Dr. Margaret Bastin received the Sangeetya Award 2024. Thiruvaiyaru brothers S Narasimhan and S Venkatesan, and violinist HK Narasimhamurthy received the TTK Award.

Speaking at the event, N., Chairman of The Music Academy and Director of The Hindu Group Publishing Pvt. Ltd. Murali said the Shri Krishna concert held on Christmas day was of ‘very high quality’ and the audience response was really positive. ‘It was overwhelming and the enthusiastic applause and standing ovation that the artiste received was incredible’.

‘Real environment’

“Overall, the revelers, young and old, were in such high spirits and filled with so much energy and enthusiasm that the whole atmosphere was surreal in a way. I would dare to say that, if there is any musician who can attract people from outside Carnatic music, especially the young audience, it is Sri TM Krishna,” he said. “The Karnataka music ecosystem is in dire need of such inclusion as structural changes are already taking place, which need to be seriously addressed by institutions involved in classical performing arts.”

Mr Murali said Mr Krishna distinguished himself in his role as President of the ’98^th Annual Conference and Concert’. “His talent continued to shine throughout the season. The academic sessions have been organized specifically for the first time in more than 20 years with an overarching theme ‘Aesthetics and Synthesis: Reflections on Raga in Indian Art,” he said.

On receiving the title, Sri Krishna, who thanked his friends and family as well as the people of Urur Olcott Kuppam, said his life changed after he was invited to organize a music festival at Urur Olcott Kuppam in 2015. Went.

“There have been many periods of upheaval in my life in the last decade or so. Many lasted about a month, but 2024 was different. It was almost eight months of non-stop action, if you can call it that. I know I’m tough, but sometimes, it’s hard and it can be very lonely,” he said.

Shri Krishna recalled his experiences of performing at the Sangeet Academy on December 25, 2024. “It was not just about the number of people gathered here. For me, it wasn’t about that. This was not a matter of applause. It wasn’t about the standing ovation. It wasn’t about shouting or screaming and happiness. No, I think what made it phenomenal for me was that everyone here that day was here for a very personal reason. And I left that morning with a lot of hope and a lot of joy, but most of all, truth,” he said.

Professor David Shulman said that Carnatic music has the power to transform itself and even change reality. “One of the specialties of Carnatic music is that you are able to change not only your life but also something in reality. I have to say that part of the reason for it, the magic of that kind of transformation, part of it, of course, is the tremendous interpenetration and interdependence and much more than the symbiosis of text, spoken text and music. , melodious and rhythmic recitation. This is one of the strongest characteristics of this whole tradition, because Carnatic music, we all know is a music of compositions… as a compositional framework, and even if the composition transcends itself during performance, And words and words get married together. Seems like it’s a magical combination,” he said.