I completely stand with Bezwada Wilson and T.M. Krishna in their contentions about freedom of expression, nationalism and inequality (“An equal music, a beautiful society”, Dec.24). However, I would like to react to some of the statements on Carnatic music. Carnatic music in the past was never a “provenance of women”. It was only because of singers such as M.S. Subbulakshmi and M.L. Vasanthakumari that the realm of Carnatic music became open to women. Second, there is no factual validity to the point that “Brahmins cleansed the music and dance of their vernacular character”. This is evident as the evolution of Carnatic music dates back to the Vedic period and its development became possible only because of the original work of Purandara Dasa and later the trinity of saints, Thyagaraja, Muthuswami Dhikshitar and Syama Sastri.
The Carnatic music art has also seen several non-Brahmins. With Carnatic music increasingly becoming a a part of co-curricular activities in many schools, the art has already become “de-Brahminised”. Nobody is ever stopped from learning Carnatic music.
Surya Rajkumar,
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Sonipat, Haryana