Chennai: V Shrinivasan, grandson of Carnatic music legend M S Subbulakshmi, has told Madras high court that his suit to restrain the Music Academy from conferring the Sangita Kalanidhi M S Subbulakshmi Award on vocalist T M Krishna would not disrupt the annual music season in Chennai or stop the conferring of the main award on Krishna.
Responding to a counter-affidavit by the academy saying any disruption to confer the award on T M Krishna at this juncture would cause serious prejudice and hardship to the academy, Shrinivasan said."The suit is not to stop the music season or the main Sangita Kalanidhi award.Consequently, there is no disruption unless, of course, the Music Academy is of the view that the entire music season is being run on the shoulders of T M Krishna," he said.
Shrinivasan also referred to the Music Academy's submission that its auditorium was not entirely built on the proceeds generated by concerts of M S Subbulakshmi, and said: "While M S Subbulakshmi helped the Music Academy repay its loans for its existing building, the Music Academy has repaid its debt of gratitude by conferring an award on a person who has continually disgraced her and belittled her efforts to the world of Carnatic music. If members of the Executive Committee have a modicum of conscience left in themselves, they ought to seriously introspect on the terrible mistake they have made. It is high time that these persons at whose behest this ‘mirror' award is being bestowed must hold a mirror to themselves."
Shrinivasan filed the suit taking exception to the grant of Sangita Kalanidhi M S Subbulakshmi Award on T M Krishna saying the latter had made vituperative comments against Subbulakshmi and that conferring the award on him would be inappropriate.
"T M Krishna should either have the courage or conviction to say he sticks to the vituperative comments made by him against late MS Subbulakshmi and since according to him, she is not a great singer of merit on her own, he should decline to accept an award instituted in her name. Instead, he resorts to unpardonable hypocrisy in abusing her name on social media, and then accepting an award in her name," Shrinivasan said in his rejoinder.
Citing M S Subbulakshmi's Oct 3, 1997, will which said there should be no memorial or statue or foundation or donations of any kind using her name, Shrinivasan said the award instituted to ‘commemorate her memory' was something which M S Subbulakshmi had expressly forbidden.
Noting that the will had been probated, he said: "The probate court is a court of conscience and once it is found that the testator's wishes have not been adhered to by those exploiting her name, there is no question of acquiescence or estoppel being put against the court from giving effect to the wishes of the testator."