Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna, the winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards are without an iota of doubt deserving candidates who have rendered yeoman service in their spheres of activity (“Magsaysay for Bezwada Wilson, T.M. Krishna”, July 28). Karnataka-based Wilson has been fighting a long battle to abolish a highly undignified practice, while TMK, a stormy petrel in the world of classical music, has been working tirelessly to liberate it from being the preserve of a privileged few. They have had to contend with a great deal of opposition and haven’t flinched, which is admirable.
C.V. Aravind,Bengaluru
The impression a reader gets from Mr. Krishna’s interview (“‘The award is for unshackling art from man-made ghettoes’”, July 28) is that Carnatic music is out of reach for many communities. I do not agree with this. Saint Tyagabrahmam had as his Prathama sishya, Walajapet Venkataramana Bhagavatar (of the weaver community). How can we forget M.S. Subbulakshmi, K.B. Sundarambal and Chittoor Subramania Pillai? The Ponniah quartet, who were trained by Muthuswami Dikshitar, are well-known in Carnatic music circles, as were Veenai Dhanam Ammal and Dwaram Venkataswami Naidu. Among music composers, one has Annamalai Reddiar. Dakshinamoorthy Pillai (Kaliyuga Nandi) Thiruppamburam Swaminatha Pillai, Violin Govindaraja Pillai, Palani Subbudu were Carnatic stars. In the Isai Vellalar community, one has Nadaswara Chakravarthy, T.N. Rajarathnam Pillai, the Thiruvenkadu Brothers, the Tiruveezhimizhalai Brothers and Thavil Meenakshisundaram Pillai. Pandhanallur Meenakshisundaram Pillai is one more name to recall.
Mr. Krishna can still teach Thevaram, Thiruvachakam and Thiruvaimozhi to all music aspirants irrespective of their caste and break more shackles.
S. Chidambaresa Iyer,Chennai
As a Carnatic music lover, one is proud that a prestigious award has been bestowed on a talented singer but I feel that it is too premature to recognise his work as being representative of “social inclusiveness in culture”. As such, Carnatic music occupies very little space in the music world. It has failed to attract the younger generation. There is also an “invasion” in the form of other types of music.
When Carnatic music-based songs in the films “ Konjum Salangai ”, “ Sindu Bhairavi ”, “ Sankarabharanam ” and “ Salangai Oli ” could transcend social and cultural barriers, TMK has much work to do before he can touch even a bit of “social inclusiveness”.
L. Rangarajan,Chennai
Bezwada Wilson’s efforts to bring in an element of dignity into the lives of manual scavengers are certainly worthy of not just this award but many more as well. It is also evidence of the grim reality they face. It is puzzling how despite an improvement in sanitation, the plight of the manual scavenger is still left unresolved and unspoken of. The distressing lives of those who continue to clean human waste and spend their lives around such miseries has to change in a dramatic way.
Akhila Padmanabhan,Thiruvananthapuram
