Krishna timed his comeback extremely well, to remind us with this beloved and beautiful song of a man whose political and spiritual memory is daily being impugned in Narendra Modi’s India. Gandhi was just another scheming bania – a disparaging dig at his trading caste. It was electric to watch Krishna moving out of Telugu and his native Tamil into Gujarati (his accent is perfect, by the way), and bringing his Carnatic concert to a close with one of Gandhi’s favourite prayer songs, that was once so familiar to all Indians.Įvery moment of the evening had been deeply moving up to this point, but to hear Vaishnav Jan To in Krishna’s voice was to have tears in one’s eyes.įor just hours before, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah had insultingly referred to Gandhi as a chatur bania (“wily trader”) at a public meet in Chhattisgarh, dismissing the Mahatma’s contribution to India’s freedom movement as somehow clever, instrumental, transactional and devoid of the ideals and values that we invariably associate with the Gandhian struggle. Krishna started off in Suruti (tuned by Arun Prakash, the mridangam player who is also a composer), before finally arriving at Khamaj, which is the raga in which this well-known bhajan is normally sung. Play A rendition of ‘Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye’, by Amjad Ali Khan and Bismillah Khan.

Many other lovely ragas – Varali, Kharaharapriya, Neelambari, Begada – were woven into the main repertoire of compositions, framing the major pieces and leading from one to the next in Krishna’s inimitably mellifluous and agile way.Īnd then, a little over an hour and forty minutes in, Krishna, who can never resist some shock-and-awe tactics, began to sing Narsi Mehta’s 15th century poem in Old Gujarati, Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye, which was adopted by Mahatma Gandhi into the roster of prayers routinely sung at the Sabarmati ashram. Things were going superbly well – Krishna was intense and ecstatic as ever, and the playful ease between the three musicians (who are great friends) kept the performance energetic and unpredictable at every turn. Next he sang a plangent viruttam written by the Tamil writer Perumal Murugan in raga Sahana, and followed it with a crest jewel of Carnatic music, Syamasastri’s O Jagadamba, in the majestic raga Anandabhairavi. Krishna opened with Thyagaraja’s spectacular composition Dasharathi in raga Todi – brooding, turbulent, and dissonant – before seguing into a soaring, cascading thillana in Behag by Lalgudi Jayaraman. T20 World Cup: Reactions to India’s comeback win against Bangladesh – ‘What a great escape’Īt the finale of SPIC MACAY’S 5th International Convention in Delhi on June 10, the first act in the all-night concert was Carnatic vocalist TM Krishna, along with violinist RK Shriramkumar and mridangist Arun Prakash.Shuttle Zone: Emotional intelligence – why parents, coaches play huge role in shaping a kid’s career.The big news: Morbi tragedy could have been avoided, say police, and nine other top stories.What could be the legal implications of declaring Hindus a minority in parts of India?.The journey of a young Indian Jewish woman to becoming the first lady of Cyprus.Could Russia collapse if it loses the war in Ukraine?.Watch: Model Heidi Klum dresses up as an earthworm for Halloween.Watch: KL Rahul’s game-changing run-out to end Litton Das’s brilliant innings at T20 World Cup.‘Give me rice’: Bappi Lahiri’s ‘Jimmy Jimmy’ song has become a lockdown anthem in China.

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Vaishnava Songs on the Harmonium