Breaking into the code

[kvchellappa]

When RBI was managing rupee against a basket of currencies, traders used to regress and find out the formula, and RBI would mislead by introducing variations that will fool regression.
Hopefully, Music Academy is following (?) a list of criteria that is capable of cracking into.
Possibly, we can try to decipher it.
Last year, a late entrant into the impassioned debate on the choice, mused that since in the previous year an instrumentalist was chosen, MA must have preferred the vocalist to the instrumentalist (avoiding the explosive names).

[Rsachi]

KVC,
I have my own hypothesis.
1. Young artiste in their prime.
2. Famous crowd puller for at least 10+ years.
3. Versatile and non-controversial.
4. Good PR at MA
5. Can hold his or her own in the lecdem sessions.
6. Recent awardee of SNA or Padmashree etc.
7. 30% grace marks for Tamilian =Tamil speaker.
8. Rotation criterion male/male/male/female, vocal/vocal/vocal/vocal/vocal/instrumental.
9. Must be eager to receive the award graciously and must have not done some negative PR if didn't get earlier.
10. Most committee members are nodders a la PGW. I think some private inner circle dominated by N Murali basically decides and gets the committee to ratify it.

[kvchellappa]

Good analysis.
Some other factors: rotation policy between older and younger people introduced by Murali recently.
More India-based, pure carnatic based (?) (Tiruchi Snakaran got it of course).

[arasi]

You both have covered most factors. Are there more? One I can think of is, rotation of sorts in 'which state you come from' too? Granted, many live in Chennai...