When a mridangam maestro meets a marxist leader
What could be common between a mridangam exponent and a Marxist leader? Music. The friendship between Umayalpuram Sivaraman, who describes himself as a hardcore traditionalist, yet ultramodern, and M.A. Baby, the general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and a connoisseur of Carnatic music, dates back decades. The two came together to share…