The Carnatic singer, who has rendered selected verses of Sree Narayana Guru at Hosanna Parvat, Pala, says that cultural dialogue and dialogue on different religions is to be nurtured.
The Carnatic singer, who has rendered selected verses of Sree Narayana Guru at Hosanna Parvat, Pala, says that cultural dialogue and dialogue on different religions will have to be promoted.
Carnatic singer, composer and writer TM Krishna will be rendering selected verses of Sree Narayana Guru on April 9 at Hosanna Mount, Pala. Hosanna Mount is dedicated to the memory of writer and social reformer Joseph Pulikunel.
The concert is being organized by Backwaters Collective, Null Archives, Hosanna Mount and Uru Art Harbor and is supported by DC Books.
talk to shri krishna Hindu About the importance of the concert, and why it is particularly important to sing Guru’s verses in the backdrop of the sudden rise of caste- and religious-based discrimination against performers in some temples in Kerala.
Edited excerpt from the interview:
What are your views on artists of different religions not being allowed to perform in some temples in Kerala?
It is a grave atrocity that an artist is not allowed to perform in the temple on grounds of religious belief or unbelief. A temple has always been considered a place where people of different religions or having no faith at all can take part in art and culture as far as culture and music are concerned. The beauty of any type of non-exclusive venue is that anyone can participate in the ceremony.
What about the great Nagaswaram artists? are Muslims. The greatest (Shek) was Chinna Maulana. Are we going to say that he couldn’t play in the temple? It is surprising that this is happening in Kerala. I am deeply concerned that religious institutions are taking such steps. Recently we read about the hijab controversy in Karnataka, it’s a rule that non-Hindus can’t have shops around temples… I don’t know what we’re doing to ourselves. This is sad.
In that context, your concert on Mount Hosanna in Pala has an important symbolism…
It becomes even more important that we have these places where cultural interactions take place; Conversations on different religions have to be nurtured. No religion is free. Religions have always spoken to each other, always shared and there may be disagreements, but it has been so to come together in commonality. After all, every belief is about finding the good in yourself. No matter what god’s name you call, in the end you are trying to be a good person. And this means that different religions should be intertwined. I think this concert is important, and Guru’s voice becomes very important in that context.
I have already rendered verses where he is talking about who is God? Is it Allah, Jesus, Buddha, Krishna? Therefore, when he says who this is, he is saying that this is all and this is none. It is even more important that we are organizing this concert where the beliefs are going to be intertwined.
Will you be singing only the Guru’s verses?
It has been three-four years since we started ‘Guru Project’. The idea was to bring Guru’s compositions and poems on the stage of the Carnatic Music Festival. It started with the first concert in Bombay (Mumbai). Then I performed at different places. My concerts in Pala will mainly be on Guru’s compositions on various subjects. Also you can see a lot in his creations. You can see complete faith in a god or goddess, plus she is a philosopher. You can see the subversion of the mainstream hegemony system. The Guru is a spectrum of possibilities, someone who mixes social interaction and spiritual interaction and does not shy away from either.
Recently, in an interview you remarked that liberals have failed the country. Would you tell me why you felt that way?
Faith is a part of life. Believe me or you, the truth is that faith is key to hope. Confidence is what gives you the strength to wake up the next morning, especially if you are a person who feels down or marginalised.
The problem with liberal conversation is that in the liberal world there is no language to deal with faith, religion, and ritual. The point is, what conversation do we have with believers? What is our conversation with the believer? The easy way out is to say it’s messed up, it all discriminates, marginalises… no one is denying it. But you still need to have that conversation. There is good in such people.
The second thing is to think that a religious person is a socially insensitive person, not modern enough. These are ridiculous condescending ideas that we have developed in the liberal world. We almost look down on a person of religious faith. This is completely wrong. Ugly humans are present everywhere. As ugly as religious people are, there are also ugly liberals. So there is a certain ‘other’ that the liberal world has consistently done. That is one reason why we are seeing what we are seeing in this country. I want to take responsibility for this.
TM Krishna | photo credit: Narendra Dangiya
In my opinion, forget the extreme people because they are very hard to interact with. But what about the range of people in between? What is the modern liberal interaction with that category (of people)? In that circle some people want to keep the temple, worship and rituals. What is my communication with him? I think we have failed. I think it is important that there is self-reflection from the Left and the Liberals at the center regarding this issue. We don’t even have a language for it.
If you want people of any color and color to engage in a much-needed social conversation about identity, place, power dynamics, privilege, etc., you also need to say what kind of faith their beliefs may be a part of. Is. Conversation, don’t say that trust hinders this conversation. It should be part of our conversation. it is not easy. I accept it. I know this is messy but if you are not willing to do this, our country will go down further. that’s what I feel.
You are a privileged person, practicing a privileged art? So where does that put you?
This is a double edged sword. I have privilege and it’s never going to end. It’s not that much different than that! I am a man of feminism. This is not going to change.
TM Krishna | photo credit: Manjunath H S
This is a problematic place to occupy. But, at the same time, it is important to engage in conversation with those who are privileged. Privileges have to be changed. They have to push and ask uncomfortable questions. I am only speaking the truth with my audience. I want his experience of Carnatic music and culture to be more complex and complex. My Space is inspiring you to engage in dialogue in these areas, whether with the socially privileged, the culturally privileged or the socio-economically privileged. Those are the areas I want to talk to and have a conversation with.
My position is to enable these complex conversations in places where people like me are participating. And where I can have this debate or conversation. I think this is my place. But I understand that my space is also problematic. So if someone calls me out, I’ll listen. But if someone tells me that I shouldn’t have this conversation, I won’t agree. I think everyone should have this conversation.
Many works in Carnatic music are devotional, dedicated to the gods and goddesses of the Hindu sect. Do you think we need to broaden the repertoire of Carnatic music by bringing in new subjects?
With Perumal Murugan in the last three years Saraswathy NagarajanWe have brought a lot of Tamil compositions which are on nature, social topics like discrimination, manual scavenging etc. on Carnatic music stage. Then there are the works written by Islamic Sufi saints, we have brought Christian works on Jesus in Tamil and Malayalam. So, yes, I think it is important to broaden the spectrum of material in Carnatic music. There are no two ways about it. It’s not just the content. It’s also about bidding.
I always think that when we are talking about God the dialects are different. The dialect used in Carnatic music is also a privileged dialect. Be it Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada or Telugu, the dialect is privileged. I think the bid needs to be challenged as well. In fact, with Perumal Murugan, we try and do that. He uses the quote of ?? In their region, which is not commonly used in Carnatic music. We need content, dialect, multi-religiousness and contemporaneity in Carnatic music. We live today. So let’s talk today. If people feel a profound divinity from these diverse disciplines, then something interesting is happening there. Rama and Krishna not only awaken the divine spirit but other objects also awaken it. We make a conversation. Even disturbing themes in the material can create very dark experiences. Then, I think, the hardness of the cartons will disappear. And the fluidity of mind and heart will happen, at least it is likely. I can work But to bring this plurality in what we sing, what we think, what we dance, what we write, everyone needs to work in their own field.