What is your take on this?

[harimau]

I was in Boston recently and heard this story.

Last year T M Krishna sang at the Chinmaya Mission, Boston.

After an alapana of some raga and a suitable reply by the violinist, it seems T M Krishna opened up with the word "Allah".

The audience was shocked and stayed grimly silent.

T M Krishna then asked, "You can't applaud because the song is about Allah?"

After relating this incident, the narrator said that considering that the venue was the Chinmaya Mission, T M Krishna could have avoided the Allah song and could have gone with a traditional song. The Allah song may have been more appropriate for a secular event such as a MITHAS (MIT Heritage of Asia) concert, he added.

What do you think?

Be bold and voice our opinion.

Don't let the fear of being labeled an Islamophobe by the likes of sureshvv hold you back!

[kvchellappa]

It is not the mention of Allah that is offensive, but his remark at the stunned silence of the audience, and bringing it up at all in this forum, and that too in General Discussion.

[bhakthim dehi]

If he is given a chance (let us hypothesize) to perform in a Church or elsewhere (other than temples, sabhas or other places where Carnatic concerts are held), is he willing to sing the compositions of Hindu Saints composed on Hindu deities?

[Pratyaksham Bala]

.
A few more are offended, and a few more doors closed.

[arasi]

He sang it perhaps because he wanted to sing one in tamizh which also happened to be a song by Bharathi?
Well, not an ideal choice for the venue. One on HanumAn who has a sannidhi there would have been more suitable.
As for the song, an easy pallavi of just three words: allAh, allAh, allAh. The following two verses? Not so.
TNS of course has sung it...

[sureshvv]

Aakashaat patitam toyam...

Of course these are just some words repeated 3 times a day by many mindless harimaus who get righteously indignant if a song on Siva is sung in a Vishnu temple (or vice-versa).

[arasi]

Agreed

[Sundara Rajan]

I don't see anything wrong in bringing up the event here in "General Discussion". After all we have discussed all and sundry topics not related to music in these columns; haven't we ?
The word Allah does not refer to any Islamic God like Hindu Gods Rama, Krishna etc. Allah in Arabic language simply means GOD, not necessarily a Muslim God, just as BhagavAn in Sanskrit or KadavuL in Tamil mean God. It is like some devout Christian American saying " I don't believe in Allah" !

[arasi]

Agreed again, Sundara Rajan!
kESava, ISvara, AllAh, by whichever name we call, sarva dEva namskArams--they flow towards the Almighty...

[sureshvv]

Nee ilaadha idamey illai, Nee thaaney ulagin ellai

[sankark]

What do you think?

Be bold and voice our opinion.

vElai illAdha ambattan ....

PS: Above comment is not on TMK.

[SrinathK]

<Deleted>

[kvchellappa]

A little unintelligible to me. Worth discussing rather than the post.
'it's ignorance is bliss' : ignorance of what?
We have seen that those who swear by tolerance are very intolerant. I agree that concepts like equality, fairness, impartiality, etc.are contextually defined. While in India everyone complains about favouritism, everyone looks for some recommendation when one has to be in a queue or competition.

[SrinathK]

Well, I have for my own understanding, read most of the major books as well as the history of quite a few religions and what is going on in plain sight. What I found was... very interesting. Quite different from the simple things we like to believe about world religions.

[HarishankarK]

If he is given a chance (let us hypothesize) to perform in a Church or elsewhere (other than temples, sabhas or other places where Carnatic concerts are held), is he willing to sing the compositions of Hindu Saints composed on Hindu deities?

He has, hasn't he - at Afghan Church Mumbai - singing Syama Sastri kritis and all

[HarishankarK]

K J Yesudas once sang a tamil thalattu song in BVB Chennai after Kshira sagara in a full fledged carnatic concert.

[vgovindan]

Suppose, he had sung 'raghupati rAghava rAjA rAM' of Mahatma Gandhi, wherein 'ISvar allA terO nAm' appears, then?
There is a Tamil saying - இடம் பொருள் ஏவல். There are shades of grey - the musician and audience should be aware.

[kvchellappa]

Well, I have for my own understanding, read most of the major books as well as the history of quite a few religions and what is going on in plain sight. What I found was... very interesting. Quite different from the simple things we like to believe about world religions.

If you have jotted down your thoughts on them, and if it is ok with you, could you please share with me?

[arasi]

Govindan,
Exactly. That was how ISwar came into my post, sabkO sanmati dE bhagwAn being the awareness line.
Srinath,
Wish I had read your post before it was deleted. You often bring us a lot of meaningful thoughts which can be pondered over.
As for Bharathi's vAich chollil vIraraDi (the exponents on empty talk out there on podiums and elsewhere)--the day we take individuals for what they really are in their actions than for what they spout--we can instantly notice an improvement in our environment...

[harimau]

If he is given a chance (let us hypothesize) to perform in a Church or elsewhere (other than temples, sabhas or other places where Carnatic concerts are held), is he willing to sing the compositions of Hindu Saints composed on Hindu deities?

That was also one of the comments by someone in the audience, as related to me by the person who told me what had transpired at the concert.

I had forgotten that!

[harimau]

What do you think?

Be bold and voice our opinion.

vElai illAdha ambattan ....

PS: Above comment is not on TMK.

If you have no opinion, or afraid of the likes of sureshvv, say so.

sureshvv is likely to call you "casteist" for bringing in ambattan.

All of us who frequent rasikas.org are "shaving cats". When we lack cats, we "shave eggs".

If we have worthwhile things to do, we will be doing them, instead of debating whether Sooryagayathri ought to sing conventional Carnatic Music or devotional songs and worrying about what will happen to poor Rahul Vellal if he doesn't get the required guidance to tread along the correct path as seen by each one of us individually.

Now we also know why nobody from the Boston area even mentioned this concert last year. We have busybodies like you telling the rest of us what is legal, moral, ethical and non fattening as far as General Discussions go.

[sureshvv]

<snip>

If you have no opinion, or afraid of the likes of sureshvv, say so.

sureshvv is likely to call you "casteist" for bringing in ambattan.

<snip>

Am beginning to wonder who is really afraid here

Also ambattan is a profession. As long as one doesn't assume that the ambattan's parent/offspring is also one, he/she cannot be accused of being casteist. Just FYI.

[kvchellappa]

deleted

[SrinathK]

Govindan,
Exactly. That was how ISwar came into my post, sabkO sanmati dE bhagwAn being the awareness line.
Srinath,
Wish I had read your post before it was deleted. You often bring us a lot of meaningful thoughts which can be pondered over.
As for Bharathi's vAich chollil vIraraDi (the exponents on empty talk out there on podiums and elsewhere)--the day we take individuals for what they really are in their actions than for what they spout--we can instantly notice an improvement in our environment...

I remembered that I had told myself no more tabloid TMK threads.

Unfortunately I didn't save the text anywhere, but I do remember what I spoke about. Maybe I'll discuss it in the lounge.

[Ponbhairavi]

it will be interesting to know what is the reaction of Chinmaya Mission and whether it has after this incident opened its doors to him in any of
the scores of other centres in US and the world. If the audience has applauded as expected by the singer perhaps it might have invited the attention of the US visa deptt and this might not augur well for the future of CM in us assuming that the us visa dept does not have a broad secular outlook like us.