When T.M. Krishna became "T.V." Krishna

I just came out of your concert in Smt.Sivagami Petchi Auditorium at Mylapore. I have been a vivid follower of carnatic music and one of your thousands of rasikas....

Today, even I found it difficult to focus (to listen of course) due to the poor mike arrangements and amazed as to how were you able to focus and sing wonderfully.

I congratulate you for giving us your best (though not your all time best if I'm permitted to say). But I also realised that music is bigger than all of us and the way you carried yourself in the whole concert amidst all disturbances is truly appreciatable..

- Mr. Venkatakrishnan, an auditor and (obvious) T.M.Krishna fan in the guest book on the artiste's web site.

I was at the Bhrama Gana Sabha concert (Dec. 16) as well. The concert reminded me about the "Tadangalukku Varundigirom" (Sorry for the interruption) message that used to appear so often on the Doordarshan (the only "TV" channel) of old.

First, the mike misbehaved. Big time. So much so that Krishna - who is generally finicky about mike arrangements - lifted his out of the dais, placed it on the floor and asked the technician to switch off all the mikes (including those of the accompanists). Peace was restored after the varnam and the first song (which was rendered mikeless).

Later, when Krishna launched into the tanam (as part of RTP), a mosquito (or one of its insect cousins) plunged into his mouth and committed suicide, converting him into a non-vegetarian (despite Krishna's attempts to cough it out).

The fact that Krishna still managed to complete the RTP and rest of concert is a testimonial to his commitment and professionalism.

UPDATE: I hope Mr. Venkatakrishnan attended Krishna's concert in Narada Gana Sabha on December 23. Krishna's rendering of Karaharapriya (the main song) was one of the best renderings of the raga I have ever listened to live.

One of my main regrets as a Carnatic Music Fan has been that I wasn't born early enough to attend Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Madurai Mani Iyer and MLV concerts live. Krishna is mitigating this disappointment quite a bit. In my opinion, Krishna has overtaken Sanjay Subramainam (like Sehwag, Tendulkar) to become to the most exciting artiste on the current carnatic music circuit. May he rule for long - mike and mosquito troubles notwithstanding.