“You speak to many upper class people and they will tell you, caste is not an issue in my house, we never talk about it. That’s the fundamental problem” – Francesca Recchia in conversation with T.M. KrishnaTM Krishna, is a leading vocalist in Carnatic music. The extraordinary rendition of music paired with the originality of his interpretation of it, Krishna is one of the most distinctive voices in the Carnatic tradition today. As a vocalist, he has collaborated with the Chennai Poromboke Paadal, performed with the Jogappas (transgender musicians) and co-conceptualised and performed Karnatic Kattaikuttu, a unique conversation between art forms and communities that belong to two ends of the social spectrum. In an attempt to redress the existing caste elitism from the Carnatic music system, Krishna launched his own Carnatic classical music festival, the Uroor-Olcott Kuppam Marghazi Vizha.