Singing the Guru's praise

Beef lynchings. Caste biases. The concept of one language for one nation. These are all issues that regularly make it to the papers these days. So no matter which side of the divide you stand on, there is a tug of war going on between liberals and the right wing to decide upon "the idea of India". And Carnatic maestro TM Krishna is one person who is firmly putting his weight behind the former group of people.

That's one of the reasons why he's put together a concert that will highlight the poetry and teachings of Narayana Guru, a spiritual head from the 19th and early 20th centuries who actively campaigned against caste-based injustices. Krishna tells us, "Guru was essentially a social reformer who worked towards creating an equal society. And that was one of the reasons behind this concert which will highlight his teachings given the current political climate."

He adds that the concert will involve him putting music to Guru's poetry. "I have followed the Carnatic tradition. This is the first time that I'm doing this, and I'll be singing in all the three languages in which he wrote his verses - Sanskrit, Malayalam and Tamil," Krishna says, adding that this multi-lingual facet of Guru's work also shows up the futility of trying to box a country as diverse as India into one language structure.

He also says that the power of "one" has diminished at a time when the major political parties are aiming for mass upheavals. "That's why even if it's an auditorium of 300 to 500 people, I hope that each person goes back home feeling troubled, which is the purpose of all art according to me," says a man who chose a career in music over economics in his second year of college and later, by his own admission, went down an activist route that he's followed ever since.

On November 1, 7 pm
At Tata Theatre, NCPA, Nariman Point.
Log on to insider.in (to RSVP)
Free

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