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Following several disturbing sexual harassment allegations that surfaced against prominent names in the Carnatic music community in the past couple of weeks, the Madras Music Academy announced its decision to drop seven musicians from their list of performers this December season.
Speaking to TNM, N Murali, the President of the Academy said that their decision was a direct result of the ‘Me Too’ movement.
This move follows several Carnatic musicians standing in solidarity with those who shared their traumatic ‘Me Too’ accounts naming several renowned artists.
Several young Carnatic musicians from across the world came together and signed an open document, requesting the constitution of a body to address such issues and to create a safer environment in the Carnatic community.
Recently, popular dancer and actor Swarnamalya Ganesh initiated a public consultation process for the advocacy of redressal in the performing arts.
On 12 October, one woman who had trained under renowned musician OS Thyagarajan narrated her ordeal to TNM, stating that the singer had molested her on the last day of her classes.
Popular singers like Ranjani and Gayatri, TM Krishna, Sriram Parthasarathy and Bombay Jayashri have also signed a document, put forth by young Carnatic musicians from across the world, that calls for due process through civil society investigations.
Music Academy’s December festival (Margazhi festival) is one of the country’s most popular annual events that brings patrons from across the globe. The festival promotes South India’s arts and culture with Carnatic music and Bharatanatyam taking the centre stage. This festival was an important factor that enabled Chennai attain its UNESCO’s ‘creative cities network’ status.
(This article was originally published by The News Minute, and has been republished here with permission.)
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