Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (Tamil: மதுரை சண்முகவடிவு சுப்புலட்சுமி, madhurai caṇmugavadivu cubbulaṭcmi, popularly known as M.S. or M.S.S./M.S. Maami.) (September 16, 1916 - December 11, 2004) was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. Her mother tongue was Tamil. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor. Image File history File links Ms_subbulakshmi_meera. ... // 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr declared Prince of Wales by his followers. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a population of 1. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... , “Madras” redirects here. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... // 1400 - Owain Glyndŵr declared Prince of Wales by his followers. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar). ... December 11 is the 345th day of the year (346th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... shelby was here 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ... In music a singer or vocalist is a type of musician who sings, i. ... “Native Language” redirects here. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Bharat Ratna is Indias highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. ...

Singing career

M.S.Subbulakhsmi was born to a musical family, in the temple town of Madurai, situated in the state of Tamil Nadu in South India. M.S. started learning Carnatic music from a very early age and released her first recording at the age of 10. She then began her Carnatic classical music training under Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and then Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. Her first public performance was during the Mahamaham festival at Kumbakonam. At 17, the child prodigy made her debut at the Madras Music Academy. Since then, she performed countless musical forms in different languages such as Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Sanskrit and Kannada. , Madurai   (Tamil: , IPA: ) is a city and a municipal corporation with a population of 1. ... Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ... South India is a linguistic-cultural region of India that comprises the four states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu and the two Union Territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry, whose inhabitants are collectively referred to as South Indians. ... Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ... Dr. Srinivasa Iyer (1908 - 2003) was one of the great Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century. ... Kumbakonam (Tamil: கும்பகோணம்) is a city and a municipality in the Thanjavur district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. ... Madras Music Academy is one of the premier and early Music Academies in the South Indian city of Madras. ... Hindi ( , Devanagari: or , IAST: , IPA: ), an Indo-European language spoken mainly in northern and central India, is the official language of the Union along with English. ... Bengali or Bangla (IPA: ) is an Indo-Aryan language of the eastern Indian subcontinent, evolved from the Magadhi Prakrit, Pāli and Sanskrit languages. ... Gujarati (ગુજરાતી GujÇŽrātÄ«; also known as Gujerati, Gujarathi, Guzratee, and Guujaratee[3]) is an Indo-Aryan language descending from Sanskrit, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. ... Tamil ( ; IPA ) is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamils in India and Sri Lanka, with smaller communities of speakers in many other countries. ... Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... Telugu (తెలుగు) is a Dravidian language (South-Central Dravidian languages) primarily spoken in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, where it is the official language. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is a classical language of India, a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Kannada - aptly described as sirigannada (known to few as Kanarese) is one of the oldest Dravidian languages and is spoken in its various dialects by roughly 45 million people. ...

M.S. became famous as a film actress. Her most memorable role was Bhaktha Meera in Meera (1945). The movie had M.S. sing the famous Meera bhajans, with Dilipkumar Roy as the music director. Those renditions by M.S. continue to enthrall listeners to this day. Following the success of the film she quit films and turned wholly to concert music.In total she has acted in five films spanning a decade. The list includes Sevasadanam, Savitri, Meera(Tamil) and Bhakti Meera( Hindi). Meera (1498 - 1547) was a Rajput princess who lived in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. ... Meera (1498 - 1547) was a Rajput princess who lived in the north Indian state of Rajasthan. ... Dilipkumar Roy (1897-1980) was a Bengali Indian musician, musicologist, novelist, poet and essayist of a vast culture, endowed as much with intellectual gifts as with an innate devotion. ...

M.S. met Sadasivam, a freedom fighter, and a follower of Rajaji, in 1936. She married him in 1940 and their marriage spanned over 50 years. They had no children. Sadasivam had children from his previous marriage that M.S. treated as if they were her own children. They were named Radha, Vijaya. M.S and Sadasivam also raised Sadasivam's nephew Ramachandran (Ambi) and niece Thangam, who were orphaned at a young age. Radha frequently sang with M.S. in concert while Vijaya played the Tanpura. They lived in a mansion named "Kalki Gardens", and as Radha, Vijaya, Ambi and Thangam grew up, their children also lived in the mansion with M. S., or as they affectionately called her, Ammu Patti. Rajaji Chakravarthi Rajagopalachari (December 1878 - December 25, 1972), known as or Rajaji or C.R., was an Indian lawyer, writer, statesman and a Hindu spiritualist. ...

M.S. travelled to London, New York, Canada, the Far East, and other places as India's cultural ambassador. Her concerts at Carnegie Hall, New York; the UN General Assembly on UN day in 1966 (while U Thant was the Secretary General); the Royal Albert Hall, London in 1982; and at the Festival of India in Moscow in 1987 were significant landmarks in her career. This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... NY redirects here. ... The far east as a cultural block includes East Asia, Southeast Asia, Northeast Asia and South Asia. ... An ambassador, rarely embassador, is a diplomatic official accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization, to serve as the official representative of his or her own country. ... Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street. ... United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. ... U Thant (Burmese: ; 22 January 1909 – 25 November 1974) was a Burmese diplomat and the third Secretary-General of the United Nations, from 1961 to 1971. ... A large number of international organizations and other bodies have a secretary general or secretary-general as their chief administrative officers or in other administrative capacities. ... “Albert Hall” redirects here. ... Position of Moscow in Europe Coordinates: , Country District Subdivision Russia Central Federal District Federal City Government  - Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov Area  - City 1,081 km²  (417. ...

As a first-time foreign listener put it, "M.S. does not sing. She makes divinity manifest." Timeline and Samples Genres Classical (Carnatic and Hindustani) - Rock - Pop - Hip hop Awards Bollywood Music Awards - Punjabi Music Awards Charts Festivals Sangeet Natak Akademi – Thyagaraja Aradhana – Cleveland Thyagaraja Aradhana Media Sruti, The Music Magazine National anthem Jana Gana Mana, also national song Vande Mataram Music of the states Andaman and... The origins of Indian classical music can be found from the oldest of scriptures, part of the Hindu tradition, the Vedas. ... Hindustani Classical Music is an Indian classical music tradition that took shape in northern India in the 13th and 14th centuries AD from existing religious, folk, and theatrical performance practices. ... Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ... The Carnatic classical music tradition gained impetus in the 15th century through the works of Purandara Dasa, one of the foremost Haridasa Saints of the Vijayanagara Empire, and is also regarded as Karnataka Sangeetha Sampradaya Pitamaha (Patriarch of the Carnatic Music Tradition). ... Carnatic music is the classical music of South India. ... Raga (rāg /राग (Hindi), raga (anglicised from rāgaḥ/रागः (Sanskrit)) or rāgam /ராகம் (Tamil)) are the melodic modes used in Indian classical music. ... Melakarta is the collection of Ragas in Carnatic music. ... The katapayadi sankhya is a way of determining the number of a melakarta ragam from the first two syllables of the name of the raga. ... The śruti (Sanskrit thing heard, sound) is the smallest interval of the tuning system of Indian classical music. ... The notes, or swaras, of Indian music are Shadjam, Rishabham, Gandharam, Madhyamam, Panchamam, Dhaivatam and Nishadam. ... Saptak denotes the set of seven notes (Swaras), viz. ... In Indian classical music, Tala (tāl (Hindi), tāla (anglicised from talam; in Sanskrit), literally a clap, is a rhythmical pattern that determines the rhythmical structure of a composition. ... In the music of India, a mudra is the signature of a composer on a composition, usually in the form of a few unique words added to the song. ...

Mahatma Gandhi was so charmed of her Meera bhajans that he requested her to sing the song Hari Tum haro Jan ki bheer (Lord, please dispel the fear in mankind). A message had been sent to Madras that Gandhiji wished M.S. to render his favourite bhajan, "Hari tum haro", and a response had gone from husband Sadasivam to the effect that since she did not know how to sing this particular bhajan, somebody else could sing "Hari tum haro", and she could sing another bhajan. A reply had promptly come back on behalf of the Mahatma: "I should prefer to hear it spoken by Subbulakshmi than sung by others." Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (Gujarati: , Hindi: , IAST: mohandās karamcand gāndhī, IPA: ) (October 2, 1869 – January 30, 1948), was a major political and spiritual leader of India and the Indian independence movement. ... Hari Tuma Haro is an Indian bhajan or devotional song. ...

In the late 1950s, as she sang at the Ramakrishna Ashram in Delhi, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, was among the audience. At the end of the recital he was so moved that he bowed, and said, "What am I, a mere prime minister before a queen of music (he was to repeat it in every speech of his, praising her)." Jawaharlal Nehru (जवाहरलाल नेहरू) (November 14, 1889 - May 27, 1964), also called Pandit (Teacher) Nehru, was the leader of the (moderately) socialist wing of the Indian National Congress during and after Indias struggle for independence from the British...

Not unexpectedly, "she talks, sings and lives music twenty-four hours a day," and is deeply religious. The puja (prayer) room in her house has three life-size portraits of Sri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Sankaracharya, the saint whom she calls "divinity in flesh and blood," and who has "been instrumental in restoring the faith and religious temperament of the people of Madras and reclaiming many to the path of God" in recent years. As her guru, he selected the verses for the highly popular record she made in 1970 of the Bhajagovindam (some 30 verses composed by the poet-philosopher Sankara in praise of Lord Krishna, which are both musical and of much philosophical content) and Vishnu Sahasranamam (a musical chant of the 1,000 names of Vishnu, one of the three main gods of the Hindu pantheon). The Sage of Kanchi H.H. Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Chandrashekarendra Saraswati Paramacharya Swamigal (1894–1994) or the Sage of Kanchi was considered by believers to have been one of the greatest saints of Bharata Varsha. ...

Honours and awards

While Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her Suswaralakshmi (the goddess of musical notes), and Kishori Amonkar labeled her the ultimate eighth note or Aathuvaan Sur, which is above the seven notes basic to all music. Her many famous renditions of bhajans include the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu) and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning). Lata Mangeshkar (Marathi/Hindi:लता मंगेशकर) (born September 28, 1929) is an Indian singer. ... Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (b. ... Kishori Amonkar (born April 10, 1931) is a noted Hindustani music performer who is known for singing in the Jaipur Gharana style. ... A Bhajan is a Hindu devotional song, often but not necessarily of ancient origin. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam is a very popular Hindu devotional composition in Sanskrit composed by Adi Shankaracharya. ... The Vishnu sahasranāma (literally: the thousand names of Vishnu) is a list of 1,000 names for Vishnu, one of the main forms of God in Hinduism and the Supreme Person for Vaishnavas (followers of Vishnu). ... Vishnu (IAST , Devanagari ), (honorific: Sri Vishnu) also known as Narayana is the Supreme Being or Ultimate Reality for Vaishnavas and a manifestation of Brahman in the Advaita or Smarta traditions. ... In Hinduism, Venkateshwara (also spelled as Venkateswara, Venkateshwer or Venkatachalapathi) is a much-worshipped form of Vishnu. ... Suprabhatam, ( Telugu: సూప్రభాతమ )literally an auspicious dawn, is a name given to Sanskrit hymns recited in the morning to awaken the Lord. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

An EMI record of MS Subbulakshmi

She was widely honored, praised and awarded. Some of them more popular ones include Padma Bhushan in 1954, Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1968 (literally, Treasure Chest of Music. She was the first woman recipient of the title), Ramon Magsaysay award in 1974, the Padma Vibhushan in 1975, the Kalidasa Sanman in 1988, the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1990, and the Bharat Ratna in 1998. She was also honored as the court-singer of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams. MS Subbulakshmi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... MS Subbulakshmi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The EMI Group (LSE: EMI) is a British music company comprising of the major record company EMI Music which operates several labels, based in Kensington in London, England, and EMI Music Publishing, based in New York. ... The Padma Bhushan is an Indian civilian decoration established on January 2, 1954 by the President of India. ... Sangeetha Kalanidhi (sangeetha = music, kalanidhi = treasure of art) is the title awarded yearly to an expert Carnatic Musician by the Music Academy of Chennai. ... The Ramon Magsaysay Award was established in April 1957 by the trustees of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund (RBF) based in New York City. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Bharat Ratna is Indias highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. ... Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (తిరుమల తిరుపతి దేవస్థానములు) is an independent trust which manages the venkateshwara temple at Tirumala, Tirupati. ...

Although she was bestowed with enormous prize moneys on these awards, she donated most of them to charity.

She was an ardent devotee of Kanchi Mahaswamigal and she rendered his composition Maithreem Bhajatha (O World! Cultivate peace) in her concert at the UN in 1966. She donated many of the royalties on several best sold records to many charity organizations. Chandrasekharendra Saraswati- “Maha Periyaval” was the sixty eighth pontiff of Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam. ...

With the death of her husband Sadasivam in 1997, she stopped all her public performances. M.S.Subbulakshmi died on December 11, 2004 after a brief illness, due to complications relating to pneumonia and cardiac irregularities.

Filmography

M.S Subbulakshmi acted in three Tamil films. Her film 'Meera(1945) was a great hit and even the songs were hot chartbusters in those days. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru fell in love with M.S S's character played in that movie and appreciated her a lot for her performance and her songs in the movie.

She also played the role of Lord Narada in one film.

See also

• Carnatic music

MS has starred in four movies. she was introduced to the silver screen by K.Subramaniam in the movie Sevasadanam this was released in 1937/38. this was a social theme. her second movie was based on a sanskrit classical drama Abhignana Shakunthalam with the same title "Shakunthalam" her third movie was Savitri in which she played the role of Narada and her last movie which raised her to the status of a saint singer was Meera which was released in 1944 this was also partially dubbed and partially remade in hindi and was released in the year 1947. Carnatic music, also known as is one of the two styles of Indian classical music, the other being Hindustani music. ...

External links

• some songs from musicindiaonline.com
• Biography at the official site of Ramon Magsaysay award
• M.S.Subbulakshmi - One Hundred Tamils of 20th Century
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi rendering tyAgarAja's pakkala nilabaDi - karaHarapriyA - misra chApu
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi rendering Sri Chandrasekhara Saraswati's maitrEm bhajata - rAgamAlika - Adi
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi rendering Mirabai's hari thum harO - darbaari kaanaDa - Adi
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi rendering C Rajagopalachariar's classic kuRai onRum illai - rAgamAlika - Adi
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi's evergreen hit "kaaTRinilE varum geetam" in madhyamAvati from the movie Meera (1945)
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi's classic rendition of Mirabai's "giridhara gOpAla" in mOhanam from the movie Meera (1945)
• YouTube clip of MS Subbulakshmi singing "endhan edadu thoLum" in karaHarapriyA from the movie Sakunthalai (1940)
• M.S. Subbulakshmi at the Internet Movie Database