T.M. Krishna

Thodur Madabusi Krishna is one of the pre-eminent vocalists in the rigorous Karnatik tradition of India’s classical music. He has co-authored Voices Within Carnatic Music: Passing on an Inheritance, a book dedicated to the greats of Karnatik music. His path-breaking book A Southern Music: The Karnatik Story won the 2014 Tata Literature Award for Best First Book in the non-fiction category. His long-form essay ‘MS Understood’ for the Caravan was featured in The Caravan Book of Profiles. He is also the author of Reshaping Art and Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers, which received the 2020 TATA Literature Live! Book of the Year Award in the non-fiction category. In 2016, he received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of ‘his forceful commitment as an artist and advocate to art’s power to heal India’s deep social divisions’. In 2017, he received the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country. In 2017, he has also received the Professor V. Aravindakshan Memorial Award for connecting Karnatik music with the common man.