Tongue in cheek

Wednesday, 5th September 2012
V Ramnarayan

By V RamnarayanTM Krishna is certainly one of our favourite musicians, someone who is constantly trying to push the frontiers of excellence, even if some of his initiatives draw criticism, sometimes anger, from people who often see such negative qualities as excessive self-promotion and arrogance in his actions.Some of these critics accuse Sruti of bias in favour of Krishna. We like to think that what we have is a bias in favour of excellence and striving, and while we admire Krishna’s music, and respect his right to air his views, even if they are controversial, we shall not hesitate to say so when we disagree with his views.We cannot deny, however, that Krishna has a knack of making his presence felt in all matters concerning him and his art, and all matters that do not concern either as well.We also believe he has a nice sense of humour and will not take it amiss if we decide to have some fun at his expense. So here we go!Krishna KrishnaWhat will TM Krishna write on next? A sneak peek into a list of forthcoming content for Sruti over the next few months reveals the following articles he is planning:Lalgudi Gopala Iyer, Lalgudi Jayaraman, Lalgudi GJR Krishnan and Lalgudi Vijayalakshmi: merits and demerits of the guru-sishya bloodline.The Tanjore Quartette and the Indian Spin Quartet: a study in contrast.Who will stop the exodus during tani avartanam? An in-depth analysis of the roles and responsibilities of (i) the vocalist; (ii) the violinist; (iii) the mridanga vidwan (we almost said mridangist but remembered Umayalpuram Sivaraman could sue us for that); (iv) the ghatam vidwan; (v) the khanjira artist; (vi) the konnakkol artist; (vii) the morsing vidwan; (viii) the sabha secretary; (ix) rasikas still seated.Human rights violations in ZimbabweJugalbandi, fusion and Carnatic rap: a case study of current trends in fundraisers Gharana and bani: from tradition to superstitionEndangered species in the Himalayas, Andes, and Antarctica: A bungee jumper’s perspective.Svanubhava’s next stop at Peshawar/ Addis Ababa: a curtain raiserWhy the Central College of Music and the Film Institute should merge to preserve artistic freedomThe law of probability: who will retire first—Sachin Tendulkar or RK Srikantan?

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