When Sri Ravikiran writes in the forum , we all listen. A member who has done much research argues with him. Wonderful. We don't argue. Same goes when Dr Narmadha , or "mridangam" writes.
But yet I argue with T.M Krishna. My reasoning. He has gone to forums treating himself as equal to them ( Journalists or whoever!). An artiste in our tradition - has Panditya - is not qual to anybody and should not go into forums where he is an equal to the other! He/She cannot put our tradition in a lower or equal status , with the knowledge of any other system - especially the modern intellectualism.
But if he/she does - it is fair game to argue with him or her.
Ours is a sadas of Panditas and pAmaras - un-equals and we cannot give up that notion! Hence it is not a congregation. That includes sampradaya bhajans as well.
Hearing this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4o0WJ6xK30 - first time I felt something genuine in her - respect for her - when I heard all her life experience. Much more so than, when she went as an equal to the Rookie MA Secretary in the Hindu Lit festival. She is going in front of Panditas with much trepidation and tries to put in front of them some new things she has brought and all the challenges. She puts "Madras" the music community in a higher pedestal!
But I felt I need to argue with her point that by sticking to gamakas , some how she stuck to tradition with no compromise - but not other aspects. I posted links and youtube videos from other Panditas, which to me challenges that notion.
I am also surprised that, with the training from Stalwarts, she is not considering viSrAnti as a core aspect of this musical tradition. "pApa sanga vidhara" : here https://youtu.be/1Zd-IUfjeiU?t=119, she can stand there for 10 avaRtas, executing various shades of nATTai , including a svaraksha round as well: "pa(lower) , pa (middle) , sa (higher) nga viDhara", If only she thought about slowing down her rendition. That , if she took the idea of laya from the Bhajana sampradAya into it. The art of executing in longs and shorts along with an offset.
People have taken from the sadas of Bhajana sampradaya, ideas, into the sadas of sangItam refining it to the needs of sangItam!
But nevertheless, my respect for her went up certainly after watching the Sruti presentation! I had always felt she was sometimes too opportunistic and expedient as an artiste!
But if she is less of an art musician and more of a religious one ( wrong characterization - unfortunate!) , she has indeed proved false the notion that somehow religiosity has resulted in exclusivity. She has brought in scores of people to listen - so much that her concert will look like an alien place for me!
) Perhaps many of those people won't go to other concerts, but if she sows the seed of interest in a small percentage, then that is good. And, anyway, I don't deny the rights of people who like Aruna Sairam to like Aruna Sairam. There are all kinds of music in the world, and many kinds of them do not appeal to me. I was only there because I was taking a foreigner (Oh yes, two foreigners then, but she was a Brit of South-Asian origin: she would not have stood out in the crowd)
and they wouldn't go there by themselves ever after.
)