CPI(M) basic secretary M.A. Child seeks Bharat Ratna for percussion artists

CPI(M) Normal Secretary M.A. Child, a connoisseur of Carnatic music, made a robust case for awarding the Bharat Ratna to percussionists in India, stating that percussion music had reached “Himalayan heights” within the nation.

“There’s not solely Umayalpuram Sivaraman. There have been Kishan Maharaj, Alla Rakha, Zakir Hussain, and Samta Prasad. However the highest honour, just like the Bharat Ratna, has gone solely to Bhimsen Joshi, Bismillah Khan, M.S. Subbulakshmi, Ravi Shankar, and Lata Mangeshkar,” he mentioned throughout a dialog with Mr. Sivaraman at The Hindu workplace in Chennai on Sunday (July 13, 2025).

Mr. Child’s friendship with Mr. Sivaraman dates again to a number of a long time. He has organised many live shows and even persuaded Mr. Sivaraman to carry out for Kathak dancer Birju Maharaj. He added that the Music Academy and The Hindu ought to play a job in advocating Bharat Ratna recognition for percussion artists.

“That is essentially the most acceptable platform to boost the query: why has a percussion artist by no means been given the Bharat Ratna? Nobody deserves it greater than Umayalpuram Sivaraman. He’s already a Padma Vibhushan awardee. The music fraternity ought to increase its voice for the popularity that’s lengthy overdue. Why is the federal government not listening to such a sane voice within the subject of music and tradition?” he requested.

He additionally recalled an incident wherein tabla maestro Kishan Maharaj criticised the Centre for its miserly perspective towards conferring awards on musicians.

“Except we reside for 80 or 85 years, no nationwide honour will come to us,” Mr. Child quoted Kishan Maharaj as saying at an occasion in Delhi attended by Union Ministers.

The CPI(M) chief additional identified inadequacies and partialities within the choice of awardees. “In fact, there are real North Indian artists, however real South Indian artists haven’t been sufficiently thought of,” he mentioned.

Mr. Sivaraman mentioned that way back, he had instructed to the Sangeet Natak Akademi that it institute an award in reminiscence of the legendary nagaswaram participant T.N. Rajarathinam Pillai.

“There’s the Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar. Institute the same award within the title of Rajarathinam Pillai,” he mentioned. Mr. Child supported this demand, saying Rajarathinam Pillai was equal in stature to Bismillah Khan.

Mr. Sivaraman, who has carried out with 4 generations of musicians, mentioned he was able to accompany the following technology as nicely. He additionally described the particular enjoying types required for accompanying nice musicians similar to Mudikondan Venkatrama Iyer, Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, G.N. Balasubramanian, Madurai Mani Iyer, T.R. Mahalingam, and M.D. Ramanathan.

Talking as regards to creativity, Mr. Sivaraman cited poet Kalidasa to clarify his philosophy: “Don’t assume every thing previous is nice; don’t criticise every thing new as dangerous. Folks with knowledge will all the time choose one of the best from the previous and one of the best from the brand new. That’s my motto,” he mentioned.

N. Ram, former Editor-in-Chief of The Hindu, who launched the 2, mentioned the occasion was meant to focus on and have fun an uncommon affiliation and a relationship that blossomed into enduring friendship.

He mentioned that Mr. Child first encountered Mr. Sivaraman’s music in the course of the Emergency, when he was semi-underground and courted arrest. “His elder brother suggested him to go to a temple and take heed to live shows. That’s how he first found the nice music of Mr. Sivaraman,” he mentioned.