T. M. Krishna

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T.M. Krishna (Thodur Madabusi Krishna, born 1976) is a Carnatic music vocalist. Hailing from a family of music connoisseurs, he was exposed to the south Indian classical music at an early age. His first concert was at the Spirit of Youth series organized by the Music Academy, Chennai (India). Since then, he has travelled widely in India and abroad and won applause from his listeners. He has received numerous awards and titles from many leading organizations, notable amongst which are the Young Achievers Award by India Today and the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi. He has released many music albums from leading audio companies like Magna sound, HMV, Inreco, Amudham (USA) and Charsur.

T.M. Krishna was born in Chennai on January 22, 1976. His father was a businessman in the automobile industry and his mother has been running a music school, Kalapeetam, in Chennai. Krishna's mother used to learn from his guru (teacher) B. Seetharama Sharma when he was four years old. Sharma noticed Krishna's interest in music, and started teaching him at the age of six.

His schooling in KFI, an institution managed by the J. Krishnamurthy trust, influenced his perceptions and outlook towards life, something which the musician has himself revealed numerous times. He went on to receive his B.A. degree in economics from Vivekananda College, Madras. He married Sangeetha Sivakumar, a Carnatic musician herself, on November 7, 1997, and has two daughters, Arya and Anantha. Together, they live in Mylapore, one of the hubs of Carnatic music in Madras.

Early life

Krishna's mother was a carnatic music graduate and his father T.M.Rangachari was a great lover of carnatic classical music, while his grandparents too had immense interest in it. His grand uncle T.T. Krishnamachari (former Indian finance minister and renowned industrialist) was one of the founders of the Madras Music Academy.

After tutelage under B. Seetharama Sharma, Krishna underwent special Ragam Thanam Pallavi grooming under Chengalpet Ranganathan. He also received advanced training from the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer for more than seven years.