NEW DELHI: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal invited everyone to come for the concert of Carnatic vocalist T.M. Krishna saying people’s presence on Saturday will be “a statement against those forces who are trying to divide and destroy our beloved India”. Krishna told The Indian Express that it is “an important day for all of us to come together to take a stand against the hate, violence and anger that is being perpetrated across this country,” reported Indian Express.
All are cordially invited.
If u believe in an inclusive India, an India which belongs to all religions, faiths and castes, ur presence tomo will be a statement against those forces who r trying to divide and destroy our beloved India. https://t.co/GAnlDncpHe
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 16, 2018
Krishna, who is at the centre of a controversy following the postponement of his scheduled concert by Airports Authority of India (AAI) in the wake of vicious trolling by right-wing elements on social media will be accompanied by violinist R.K. Shriramkumar, Anirudh Athreya on kanjira and Praveen Sparsh on mridangam.
The announcement of the concert titled “Awam ki Awaz” came a day after a major storm brewed on Thursday following the postponement and the singer got the backing of the intelligentsia and voluntary organisations. Entry to Saturday’s event is free.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Delhi then stepped in to organised a concert for the 42-year-old Magsaysay award winner on the same day (November 17), which Krishna has accepted. Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia will inaugurate Krishna’s concert billed as “a musical evening dedicated to the voices of the common man” at the Garden of Five Senses in south Delhi.
Unfazed by online trolls which led to the postponement of his concert organised by AAI in association with cultural NGO SPIC MACAY, Krishna alleged that “troll armies have links with people in power” and described the postponement as an attack on freedom of expression.
Krishna has carved a niche for himself by taking Carnatic music, long held as a preserve of the elite, to slums and masses. He has been a critic of the Modi regime, has been a regular target of rightwing trolls on social media and several of his concerts in recent times have seen last moment changes by the organisers.
Interestingly, newspapers on Friday still carried advertisement on Krishna’s concert, which has been called of by AAI which was organising it jointly with cultural NGO SPIC MACAY.