Thodur Madabusi Krishna

Thodur Madabusi Krishna is a Karnatik musician, author, and activist. He is one of the preeminent vocalists in the rigorous Karnatik tradition of India’s classical music. As a public intellectual, Krishna speaks and writes about issues affecting the human condition and matters of culture. His pathbreaking book A Southern Music: The Karnatik Story (2013) was a first-of-its-kind philosophical, aesthetic, and sociopolitical exploration of Karnatik music. His latest book, Sebastian and Sons (2020), traces the history of the mrdangam-maker and the mrdangam over the past century. In 2016, Krishna received the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in recognition of “his forceful commitment as artist and advocate to art’s power to heal India’s deep social divisions.” In 2017 he received the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration Award for his services in promoting and preserving national integration in the country.