Music Academy president says Carnatic singers Ranjani-Gayatri’s withdrawal letter ‘in poor taste’

CHENNAI: President of the Music Academy N Murali, on Thursday, responded to Carnatic vocalists Ranjani and Gayatri’s letter announcing their withdrawal from the annual Music Academy conference in protest against TM Krishna receiving the Sangeetha Kalanidhi award, as being in ‘poor taste and unbecoming of artistes’.

Murali said the award was given to Krishna for his excellence in music over a long career and no ‘extraneous factors’ influenced the choice.

He further called the duo’s decision to withdraw from the upcoming conference because the academy had chosen for the award a musician they dislike as “unbecoming of artists and in poor taste”.

Murali, who received their joint letter on March 20, said he was shocked by its ‘slanderous assertions and insinuations verging on defamation and its vicious tone’ against a senior fellow musician.

“I note that you have shared your letter addressed to me and the Academy on social media, which, apart from being discourteous, raises doubts about the intentions behind and the purpose of your letter,” Murali said in a statement.