T.M. Krishna Details His Upcoming Extended Mumbai Tour

T.M. Krishna aims to erase social barriers hanging around Carnatic and classical music with his Mumbai tour. Photo: Hariharan Sankaran

On his first tour since winning the Magsaysay Award in August, Chennai-based Carnatic music legend T.M. Krishna will conduct four shows in Mumbai from December 2^nd to December 4^th. The plan, of course, is to promote social inclusiveness, which is precisely what the singer was given the prestigious Magsaysay award for. “A concerted effort must be made to take this music to spaces where it has not been traditionally situated,” Krishna says about bringing Carnatic music to kids. “We need to break all those religious, social barriers that make it difficult for others to come inside this art.”

With an aim to erase any misconceptions and social barriers hanging around Carnatic and classical music, Krishna will be in conversation with writer Jerry Pinto on art and society at Sophia School of Communication, followed by interactions with artists and fans at performance space G5A Black Box.  A professor, lecturer and columnist/author, Krishna is clearly in demand for more than just a performance. “He is a man of many parts,” says First Edition Arts’ co-founder and director Devina Dutt, who was part of the team formulating the tour.  “How can you do justice to someone like this with just one event?”

“I love the way this tour has been curated,” says Krishna. “The idea is to address ”“ musically and through the word ”“ various issues regarding Carnatic music, perceptions, other art forms and society.”

When it comes to performances, Krishna will headline a full Carnatic concert at Veer Savarkar Auditorium in Shivaji Park on December 3rd before finally concluding the tour with its highlight: a performance in Dadar at Sitara Studio with the Jogappas on December 4th. “This is a much needed musical conversation that I hope enriches all those present,” says Krishna about his collaboration with the members of the transgender music group from Karnataka. Having initially performed with members of the Jogappas in March this year in Bengaluru, Krishna says this time he hopes the collaboration starts a dialog about equality and talent in what will be a new environment for the group. However, he explains that while it does mean that more and more people in society will get to understand the transgender community, it isn’t enough unless more artists take a similar stand. “We have to continue this conversation for it to lead to something tangible.”

T.M. Krishna live in Mumbai:

December 2^nd, 11 AM, Sophia School of Communication, Bhulabhai Desai Road

December 2^nd, 6:30PM, G5A Black Box, Laxmi Mills Estate, Mahalaxmi

December 3^rd, 6PM, Concert at Veer Savarkar Auditorium, Shivaji Park

December 4^th, 6PM, Concert in collaboration with the Jogappas, Sitara Studios, Dadar West