The Queen of Music
The Queen of Music
The pride, the inspiration, the goddess for many music lovers and vocalists, The Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi popularly known as M S Subbulakshmi or MS was a renowned carnatic vocalist. Her birth took place on 16th September 1916 to Veena player Shanmukavadiver Ammal and Subramania Iyer at Madurai in Madras Presidency.
She started learning carnatic music at a very young age under the guidance of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Subbulaxmi made her debut at the age of eleven in Trichy. She later moved to Chennai (Madras) and made her film debut. Her famous films include:
1. Sevasadanam - Tamil Movie
2. Sakuntalai-Tamil
3. Savithri-Tamil
4. Meera-Tamil
5. Meerabai-Hindi
She also trained herself in Hindustani music and has sung many bhajans, devotional songs and hymns.
Her famous works include
· Bhaje Govindam
· Sri Venkateshwara Suprabhatam
· Vishnu Sahasranama Stotram
· Hari Tuma Haro
She has performed in the Madras Music Academy and also in many other prestigious places all over the world like the Carnegie Hall and The Royal Albert Hall.
She was called “The Queen of Music” by the then Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam has also installed a bronze statue of her in the temple town.
She has also received a lot of accolades and awards including
· The Padma Bhushan in 1954[16]
· Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1956
· Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1968
· Ramon Magsaysay award (often considered Asia's Nobel Prize) in 1974
· Padma Vibhushan in 1975[16]
· Sangeetha Kalasikhamani in 1975 by The Indian Fine Arts Society, Chennai
· Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1990
The Kancheepuram saree shade known as M S Blue was named after her.
She was known for her humility and love for God and Music.
She often used to donate a lot of prize money she received to charity.
However sadly she passed away on 11th December, 2004. But she remains as the Queen of Music in our hearts and her music will always ring in our ears forever.
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