T M Krishna says false suit is meant to stop conferring M S Subbulakshmi award on him

CHENNAI: Carnatic vocalist

T M Krishna

has denied making ‘vile, vituperative and disparaging’ remarks in his articles and speeches about music legend

M S Subbulakshmi

and said a suit against conferring Sangita Kalanidhi M S Subbulakshmi Award on him was false, baseless and filed to mislead the Madras high court.
The suit, filed by M S Subbulakshmi’s grandson V Shrinivasan, sought to restrain the

Music Academy

from conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi M S Subbulakshmi Award on Krishna at the 89th annual conference and concerts to be held at the Academy in Dec 2024. Shrinivasan had referred to some articles and talks of Krishna and said they showed M S Subbulakshmi in poor light and that he should not be given the award instituted in her honour.
Denying the averments in the suit, Krishna filed a counter-affidavit saying Shrinivasan had taken his articles out of context and selectively interpreted the opinions rendered by him and presented a wholly distorted and false picture of what is contained in the articles.
Noting that he had repeatedly expressed his admiration for M S Subbulakshmi and had looked to her for inspiration, Krishna said: “My article in The Caravan was to debunk the statement that M S Subbulakshmi is the ‘greatest hoax of the twentieth century. The underlying purpose of the article was to engage seriously with the life and career of M S Subbulakshmi rather than indulge in the hagiographical accounts that had until then been typical assessments made of her career.”

As for his The Wire article, he said it meant to point out that M S Subbulakshmi was much more than her music and her music was never seriously investigated.
Referring to his speech at a Hyderabad function, Krishna said: “In this talk, I merely questioned whether the late M S Subbulakshmi would have received the adulation and appreciation that she did for her stardom had she not distanced herself from her Devadasi roots. This ought to be a question of interest to anyone who is interested in exploring the role that caste plays in society. To take this statement out of context and claim that I was questioning the credibility of late M S Subbulakshmi is nothing but a mischievous effort to mislead the court. My talk at the Hyderabad event clearly reflected my deep-rooted respect for M S Subbulakshmi.”

Krishna said he began performing at the age of 12 years and that he was a Ramon Magsaysay awardee in 2016.
Denying that he ever tried to trivialise the achievements of M S Subbulakshmi, Krishna said, “My articles and speeches reflect my admiration for her, especially her musical prowess.’
Krishna said he had been part of different collaborations such as the Chennai Poromboke Padal, performances with the Jogappas (transgender musicians) and co-conceptualised and performed Karnatic Kattaikutu, an unusual aesthetic conversation between art forms and communities that belong to the two ends of the social spectrums.