Thodur Madabusi Krishna (born 22 January 1976) is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, writer, activist, author and Ramon Magsaysay awardee.
[1] As a vocalist, he has made a large number of innovations in both the style and substance of his concerts, thereby inviting controversy from some quarters.
[3] His mother and maternal uncle Dr. Sriram Subramaniam founded and ran a school named Vidya Vanam for tribal and underprivileged students in Anaikatti, Tamil Nadu.
[4] Krishna is the grand nephew of Congress politician and freedom fighter T. T. Krishnamachari (former Indian finance minister and industrialist), who was also one of the founding members of the Madras Music Academy.
He later underwent special Ragam Thanam Pallavi grooming under Chingleput Ranganathan and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer.
Krishna's performing career began at the age of 12 with his debut concert at the Spirit of Youth series organised by the Music Academy, Chennai (India).
His music during the last decade was reputed for his powerful, deep voice and his ability to sing rapid swaras in many rare ragas.
[15] Krishna also frequently writes on topics ranging from music (including its practice, musicians, history and future) to society, culture, politics and religion.
Noteworthy among these lectures are: In 2016, along with Gita Jayaraj, Dr A. Mangai, S. Nandagopal, and Baradwaj Rangan, Krishna taught a semester long course called Indian Art in Context at Chennai Mathematical Institute.
An initiative by T. M. Krishna and environmental activist Nityanand Jayaraman - the Tamil song was written by Kaber Vasuki and composed by R. K. Shriramkumar, and the video was directed by Rathindran Prasad.
In 2016, it was designed also as a celebration to help relieve some of the trauma suffered by people hurt by the 2015 floods, and as a thanksgiving to the many who assisted with relief, rescue and rehabilitation efforts.
Today, the Urur Olcott Kuppam Vizha is now Chennai Kalai Theruvizha, a new avatar that will begin exploring new locations around the city in collaboration with local communities.
He accused them of launching an unrelenting offense of hate and violence against minorities, their cultures, identities and their rights as India's equal citizens.