In his latest book, Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers, Krishna ventures into another complicated territory and examines the role of caste in Carnatic music through the prism of a veda vadyam (Vedic instrument) that is integral to a performance.
Krishna travelled extensively through south India, interviewed as many as 43 mrdangam makers and 10 players and used both archives and oral history for this well-researched book. The book traces the origins of the modern mrdangam in Thanjavur before Chennai became a major centre of the instrument.
He narrates the tales of several families involved in mrdangam-making. An eminent one was of a Dalit-Christian Sebastian and his three sons — Shengol, Parlandu and Antony.
The book rests on an unsettling irony. While the mrdangam-makers have mostly been Dalits, the musicians are upper-caste Brahmins. The craftsmen remain at the lowest rung of the music pyramid, considered mere masons, and their contribution to the art remains neglected.
The book raises a question that begins with music but covers the entire arts. A question that a mrdangam-maker Arulraj articulates: “Why do they (Brahmin musicians) not give us the respect and importance that we deserve?”
In other words, the world of arts is intrinsically unequal as it reserves recognition to the performer but pushes the craftsman into oblivion. An inequality that springs from caste division.
https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/book-review-sebastian-and-sons-a-brief-history-of-mrdangam-makers-discordant-notes/1968640/
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In his latest book, Sebastian and Sons: A Brief History of Mrdangam Makers, Krishna ventures into another complicated territory and examines the role of caste in Carnatic music through the prism of a veda vadyam (Vedic instrument) that is integral to a performance. Krishna travelled extensively through south India, interviewed as many as 43 mrdangam makers and 10 players and used both archives and oral history for this well-researched book. The book traces the origins of the modern mrdangam in Thanjavur before Chennai became a major centre of the instrument. He narrates the tales of several families involved in mrdangam-making. An eminent one was of a Dalit-Christian Sebastian and his three sons — Shengol, Parlandu and Antony. The book rests on an unsettling irony. While the mrdangam-makers have mostly been Dalits, the musicians are upper-caste Brahmins. The craftsmen remain at the lowest rung of the music pyramid, considered mere masons, and their contribution to the art remains neglected. The book raises a question that begins with music but covers the entire arts. A question that a mrdangam-maker Arulraj articulates: “Why do they (Brahmin musicians) not give us the respect and importance that we deserve?” In other words, the world of arts is intrinsically unequal as it reserves recognition to the performer but pushes the craftsman into oblivion. An inequality that springs from caste division. https://www.financialexpress.com/lifestyle/book-review-sebastian-and-sons-a-brief-history-of-mrdangam-makers-discordant-notes/1968640/