When Carnatic goes to church, it has got to be an act of faith and goodwill

CHENNAI: For the past few days, the Christ the King Church on the Loyola College campus has been resonating with the sound of ragas, with Carnatic singer T M Krishna and his ensemble seated in front of the altar rehearsing for the 'Abide with Me - In Togetherness' concert on February 26.
It's the first time, says Father Francis Jayapathy, Rector, Loyola College, that the Loyola church is hosting a Carnatic concert."For more than a quarter of a century our Institute for Dialogue with Culture and Religions has been researching aspects of various faiths. So when Krishna approached me with the idea of a concert, I was all for it. In today's multi-religious society, where more often than not faiths are pitted against each other, any attempt to celebrate oneness is welcome," he says.
"The church is a holy space where any kind of sacred music is rendered, so we are looking forward to this evening, where Krishna will be including songs from the different faiths," adds Fr Jayapathy. The concert, which starts at 7pm, is free for all.
An initiative by people from different faiths to promote communal harmony, the concert is being presented in collaboration with the Islamic Forum for the Promotion of Moderate Thought and Sri Vishnu Mohan Foundation (SVMF). "This is an unusual concert because it is organised by people of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism, bringing us all together," says Krishna, who performed in December in a British-era Afghan Church in Mumbai, where he sang songs of Tamil sufi singer Nagoor Hanifa, and ended his concert with an invocation to Allah.
Violinist Akkarai Subhalakshmi, mridangist Arunprakash Krishnan, and ghatam player N Guruprasad form the ensemble with the vocalist.