I have been reading and discussing with others on the on going #MeToo revelations and rebuttals over the last week or so. In particular I have been surprised by the names that are being called out in the Carnatic music fraternity. Other than being a listener, I have no exposure to this world and hence my reaction may be naive and that had kept me from voicing my opinions though I have been sharing the views of others that I thought were healthy and sane. I read a couple of posts today that I felt, should be discussed in a larger forum and the nature of these posts made me rethink my stand of just observing.
The first and the second of these were from Sri. V.V.Sundaram. I only know him by name and as a great supporter of Carnatic music in the US and the main man behind the Cleveland Aradhana. The first was his post about a representation a group of young musicians had made to the Aradhana Committee. This seems to be a continuation of a statement a much larger group of young musicians made earlier expressing their views on the current events.
To me, it was an earnest request, in private, from a group of youngsters to a respected team of elders to consider a situation they are not comfortable with. It starts with their expressing confidence on the festival and then goes on to how their confidence is shaken because of the current events and requesting the committee for some specific steps.
But the reaction from Mr. Sundaram is shocking to say the least.(https://www.facebook.com/669340249/posts/10156498319445250/) It is so patronizing and plays on the emotions rather than realizing the concerns of the young musicians and providing them the much needed confidence. His first paragraph is about the impact of the festival, which the musicians do agree and applaud. The second is about his personal connections to the musicians. No one is questioning his integrity or his relationship with the young musicians. Why does he feel as if his integrity is questioned when a larger request is not about him at all? How did a request to elders gets repainted as something that is all about Mr. Sundaram, the work he has done, the relationship his wife and he has with musicians, conveniently forgetting the misdeeds and those who have suffered? This letter or the concerns expressed, are not about you Sir.
He then goes on to question thus - "If they had any concerns about the festival, today or in the past, they could have come to me, or any member of the committee through the same open door through which they have come for so many other personal and professional reasons. Instead, for some reason, they opted to take collective action, with a hostile tone, describing the Festival as "decidedly unsafe" in a letter directed to the Committee”. Does he not realize the musicians have come to him and the committee precisely for the same reasons? If just one person had an issue he or she would have come alone, there is a general feeling of discomfort, so they all have chosen to write together. I don't see how this is a problem. And the last thing I can say about that missive from the musicians is, that it is hostile. They have been respectful, appreciative and at the same time expressing their discomfort and requesting action to make them feel comfortable.
Mr. Sundaram goes on to list various initiatives of his, which are all good causes. I dont have any reason to doubt them at all. Except for one thing where he calls Nagaswaram artists as those from depressed community!
Then comes a bombshell. "Two years ago, when credible evidence of sexual molestation through first hand testimony was brought to our notice, we disinvited 4 musicians from the festival – although all 4 had warm personal relationship with the Aradhana Committee.” You have had a lawyer drawn up code of conduct for the last seven years. But when molestation happens, all you do is disinvite the artists! And to date we dont know who they are and we might be interacting with them and may be even send our kids to them for lessons. Thank you for that Mr. Sundaram. That definitely makes me feel unsafe. And no wonder the kids who wrote to you feel unsafe too.
At this juncture let me ask you a few questions
- Now that you have said that there were four people who misbehaved, can you name them in public so that we know who they are and keep away from them? And ensure that our children are not around them alone?
- Since you had credible evidence, did you share that information with other organizations in the US so that they are aware of the situation and would act based on the information? Did you even consider it was your duty to do that?
- Many a times, these artists stay in the houses of individuals during their travel in the US. Since you did not make this public, do you realize that you have put women and children at risk? You managed to disinvite them, but how many other households would have invited them? Did you not think of this?
- Your code of conduct says "We take all allegations of misconduct very seriously and will undertake a thorough review and/or refer the matter to an independent legal authority or law enforcement.” You had allegations, you had credible proof and yet you decided not to refer the matter to law enforcement or inform immigration authorities about this misconduct. Now that you have made this public, would this not reflect badly on your organization?
Unlike how you have taken this to be, the letter does not make you personally responsible for you to feel hurt. It only reiterates the trust the musicians have in you and hence they have chosen to write to you to correct the current situation. I wish you had taken up on yourself to do exactly that rather than make sentimental statements. But I have some questions for you.
You have expressed so eloquently about how hurt you are but why did I not see one word of compassion towards those who have been abused? Why is it that there is no word against anyone who would have actually committed such acts at all? Not in this statement, not ever before? All I have seen is a comment from you on a statement from one of the persons called out in this regard, Mr.Sashikiran, where you reminisced about the long history you both have and how you think he is above any such act. While Mr.Sashikiran says he has not physically harassed anyone (which is also questioned), even he makes an half hearted, apology like statement, to anyone who might have got hurt by his words. But you do not even utter a word about it but only praise him. (I am paraphrasing here as I dont have access to that video statement or your comment any longer.)
Given that despite a code of conduct, you did nothing but disinvite artists against whom you had credible evidence of molestation and you had no word of sympathy or support for those who have been abused but could sympathize with one of the accused why cannot someone feel unsafe around you?
I want to bring to your attention how some others have reacted.
CMANA - another institution from America, has come out with this very clear post of what they have done and what more they are planning to do. They did this proactively. Kudos to them (https://www.facebook.com/cmananj/posts/828658974191932)
Parvadini - Parivadini might be much smaller in size when compared to the scale of Cleveland Aradhana or CMANA but they were the first, at least to my knowledge, to clearly take a stand against the artists who have been outed. Please do note the empathy with the victims and the opinion that baseless allegations can wait. That is the need of the hour. (https://carnaticmusicreview.wordpress.com/2018/10/13/metoo-some-decisions/)
And just to bring a different dimension to how you see this issue and how a young musician see it, it is imperative that we all read this wonderful response from Rajna Swaminathan. It takes a lot of courage to write this article and I am glad that she has done it. I am happy to say that I have interacted with this brave person and am proud to be an acquaintance of hers.
Edited to Add
Sacramento Aradhana has come out with clear guidelines on how they would handle any issues including setting up of Internal Complaints Committee. http://sacramentoaradhana.org/saicc/?fbclid=IwAR2Hm4hThOaVm2LyJpZ41ZhMeZWcrGUU31XoKFVRS6ATeOMSwKfHRSe4oD4
Great Lakes Aradhana Committee, Detroit, has also come out with a statement supporting #MeToo movement and on their zero tolerance policy. They have also featured singer Chinmayi, who is playing a key role in the MeToo movement, in an upcoming program of theirs. Kudos.
End of Edit
For long such exploitations have been brushed under the carpet and the perpetrators have gone scot free. This is a chance to set things right. This is a chance to create an eco system that would protect the young and also provide a channel to assist them when something bad happens. This is the time to make changes and you can do it, Sir.
Sacramento Aradhana has come out with clear guidelines on how they would handle any issues including setting up of Internal Complaints Committee. http://sacramentoaradhana.org/saicc/?fbclid=IwAR2Hm4hThOaVm2LyJpZ41ZhMeZWcrGUU31XoKFVRS6ATeOMSwKfHRSe4oD4
Great Lakes Aradhana Committee, Detroit, has also come out with a statement supporting #MeToo movement and on their zero tolerance policy. They have also featured singer Chinmayi, who is playing a key role in the MeToo movement, in an upcoming program of theirs. Kudos.
End of Edit
For long such exploitations have been brushed under the carpet and the perpetrators have gone scot free. This is a chance to set things right. This is a chance to create an eco system that would protect the young and also provide a channel to assist them when something bad happens. This is the time to make changes and you can do it, Sir.
So, Mr. Sundaram, I urge you to step back and relook at what has happened. This is not a time to take affront or be sentimental.
- I hope you do consider the open letter to be a plea for help rather than an accusation against you. This is NOT about you.
- I hope you stand with us all in empathizing with the victims and in condemning anyone who has stooped down to commit such atrocities.
- I hope you call out those four people against whom you have credible evidence so that we can be sure we know whom not to take chances with.
- I hope, at least in future you do more than just disinvite such criminals and involve law enforcement and immigration.
- And more importantly, I hope you recognize the discomfort of the young musicians and do all that you can to assuage their concerns and keep up the good work of promoting Carnatic music and young American talents for a long long time.
And one last thing…
I saw this comment from one Lakshminarasimhan Ranganathan. It does not deserve a link but I will attach this screenshot.
This man needs medical help and I am willing to sponsor all his visits to a good psychiatrist. I hope and pray he gets well soon.
