'He insulted Tyagaraja and MS...' Carnatic singers Ranjani-Gayatri protest Music Academy honour for TM Krishna

To mark the protest against honouring TM Krishna with the Sangitha Kalanidhi Award by the Music Academy, Carnatic vocalist duo Ranjani Gayatri withdrew from the Music Academy Conference 2024.

Carnatic vocalists Ranjani-Gayatri and Harikatha exponent Dushyanth Sridhar withdrew from the Music Academy Conference 2024 as a protest after the Music Academy honoured TM Krishna with the Sangita Kalanidhi award earlier this week. The duo took to social media and announced that they would not be performing at the concert scheduled on December 25. They also decided to withdraw from participating in the Music Academy’s Conference as TM Krishna would preside over it.

They wrote, "We have made this decision as the conference would be presided over by Mr. TM Krishna. He has caused immense damage to the Carnatic music world, wilfully and happily stomped over the sentiments of this community and insulted most respected icons like Tyagaraja and MS Subbulakshmi. His actions have tried to spread a sense of shame in being a carnatic musician and has been exhibited through his consistent denigration of spirituality in music."

"He has vilified the Carnatic music fraternity that has collectively contributed millions of hours of artistry, hard work and literature," the duo said in a statement.

Likewise, renowned Vedic speaker Dushyanth Sridhar wrote a letter to the President of the Music Academy, expressing his desire to withdraw from performing on January 1. He deemed it disrespectful to his Gurus to perform immediately after TM Krishna was awarded.

At the same time, vocalist and Harikatha exponent Vishakha Hari , in her post on Instagram wrote, "This year's Sangeetha Kalanidhi designate awardee has engaged in a lot of slandering previously, hurting the sentiments of many tremendously and willfully (sic)."

On March 18, TM Krishna expressed gratitude in a thank-you note following the honor of being awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi for the year 2024.