How Queen of Music MS Subbulakshmi Inspired the Country 

Iconic Indians: 75 Extraordinary Individuals Who Inspired the Country by Sanjeev Sanyal talks about Indians who played an important role in transforming an impoverished former colony into an increasingly confident and rapidly growing nation. An excerpt on MS Subbulakshmi.

There have been singers, there are singers and there will be singers. But none could or can match the purity of her singing
or the depth of her performances in classical and semiclassical Carnatic music. To her countrymen at large, she was, in
Jawaharlal Nehru’s words, the ‘Queen of Music’. To her goes the credit of popularizing Carnatic music in the West. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (or M.S., as she is fondly referred to) was the first musician to be conferred the Bharat Ratna in 1998 and also the first musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1973—the citation spoke of ‘exacting purists’ acknowledging her calibre. She also became the first Indian to perform at the United Nations General Assembly in 1966.

‘Kunjamma’ to her family, M.S. was born on 16 September 1916 in Madurai, then part of Madras Presidency. The religious-spiritual aura of the ancient temple town must have rubbed off on her. In the years to come, she would give back to Madurai in full measure through her accomplishments.

Music was in her family; her mother was a veena player and her grandmother, a violinist. She began to learn Carnatic music at an early age, and was trained by Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. She also trained in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas’s tutelage. Her musical interests were additionally sharpened by regular interactions with various other exponents of Carnatic music.

M.S. was only 11 years of age when she gave her first public performance, at the 100-pillar hall inside Rockfort Temple,
Tiruchirappalli. At the age of 13, in 1929, she performed at the reputed Madras Music Academy. The academy did not normally entertain newcomers and only invited established names, but it made an exception in her case. She did not let the audience down. Soon after, she was dubbed a genius. By the time she was 18, she was already an established artiste. She shifted to Madras in 1936. Two years later, she made her film debut as an actor.

One of the films she acted in was Sevasadanam (1938). It was set in a contemporary social milieu and advocated reformist social policies. The film was an adaptation of Premchand’s novel, Bazaare-Husn. She also played the male role of Narada in Savitri (1941) to raise money for launching Kalki, her husband’s nationalist Tamil weekly. But it was her title role of the Rajasthani saint-poetess Meera in the eponymous 1945 film that fetched her national prominence.

A CULTURAL AMBASSADOR

However, M.S. dedicated her life to music. In the years to come, she would travel all over the world, giving concerts in London (Royal Albert Hall), New York, Canada, the Far East and several other places. In many ways, she became India’s cultural ambassador. But, she stopped giving public performances following the death of her husband in 1997.

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Lata Mangeshkar called her ‘Tapaswini’ (the ‘Ascetic’ or ‘Aspirant’), legendary Hindustani classical singer Ustad Bade
Ghulam Ali Khan named her ‘Suswaralakshmi’ (‘the goddess of the perfect note’) and noted vocalist Kishori Amonkar said she was the ultimate eighth note or ‘aathuvaan sur’, which is above the seven notes that are basic to all music.

While M.S.’s repertoire consisted of several compositions set in the Carnatic genre, her bhajans stood out. The chanting of Bhaja Govindam (Hindu devotional song), Vishnu Sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro (devotional song by Meerabai) and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning) has gone on to become a standard in bhajan singing.

Such was her popularity and the respect and admiration she commanded, that the famed Kanchipuram saree shade known as  M.S. Blue was named after her by some of her well-wishers. That she was an international figure was evident by the fact that the United Nations issued a commemorative stamp in her honour in 2005.

HUMILITY PERSONIFIED

Despite her stature, M.S. Subbulakshmi remained humble, not allowing her success to turn into vanity. In an interview, she said that for an artist to achieve success, ‘humility and the attitude to learn at any stage of our life’ were essential. That humility was evident when she was asked to offer advice to other singers. ‘I feel I am not that experienced to give advice to anyone, however young they are. But with the advantage of my advanced age I may say that our lady artists should not lose their identity of Indian womanhood, however famous they become.’

She had a favourable opinion of present-day singers, saying that they were more knowledgeable than she had been at their age, and all they needed to do was to analyse and honestly assess their strengths and weaknesses to grow. ‘Nothing can be forced on anyone now, like in the past,’ she remarked.

Her greatest success was in reaching out to millions of people across the country and abroad, uninitiated into the intricacies of the Carnatic genre, and transforming their lives through her music. Her demise on 11 December 2004 brought down the curtains on an era that she single-handedly commanded.

Excerpted with permission from Iconic Indians: 75 Extraordinary Individuals Who Inspired the Country by Sanjeev Sanyal and Rajesh Singh published by Rupa.

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