Why India doesn’t seem to care about its poor even during a pandemic

'In his new book, Sebastian & Sons, TM Krishna tells of Parlandu, the “greatest mrdangam maker ever”. Parlandu was Dalit, as all makers of the mrdangam, a percussion instrument made with cow hide which is integral to Carnatic music, are. He was employed by Vaidyanatha Ayyar and, later, by his legendary pupil, the revered Carnatic musician Palghat Mani Iyer. Both teacher and disciple, as almost all mrdangam players, were Brahmin. They were in awe of Parlandu’s craft, so much so that Mani Iyer left his hometown in Palakkad, Kerala, for Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, because the master craftsman was based there.

Yet, Ayyar wouldn’t even pay Parlandu’s full wages, meagre as they were, lest his family acquire a modicum of socioeconomic power. Instead, the Dalit man had to be content that his Brahmin overlord allowed him certain social “privileges” – he could walk up to his porch – that his community was deemed unworthy of. It was compensation enough, gratitude enough...'

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