MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion

Books on Carnatic Music and those for / by / on musicians.
cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Post by cacm »

INCIDENTALLY Ramesh was working for Double day with none other than Jacqueline Kennedy & was involved with lots of books about INDIA; He knows what he is writing about! I forgot to mention it in post above #75!VKV
Last edited by cacm on 15 Aug 2009, 01:59, edited 1 time in total.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

MKR
It is great that your anecdotes are provoking other members who have been silent to participate with their side of the stories. History of great persons are built that way with everybody pitching in with their memories and experiences. were it not for Boswell would we have known about Dr. Johnson? Your writing style is ingenuous but fascinating! No doubt you were associated with the book publishing industry as you appear to use correctly the right phrases. We are very grateful to you for opening up after a long time instead of carrying your experiences and stories to the grave. This Forum is fortunate to have your frank unvarnished cogitations and your willingness to answer our queries. I hope you would tolerate my humourous quips from time to time as professionally I believe that humour is the right antidote to relieve tensions and encourage free flow of thought. If it is distracting or you find it non sequitur do let me know and I will be happy to keep mum. The agenda is directed by you and we are all "active" listeners!

VKV

I am glad that you would be willing to open up too in the company of MKR. Two heads are better than one! Please do not quote long posts verbatim since it unnecessarily takes up useful white space! By all means comment and add to what MKR says but if you wish to pursue your own recollections do start a separate thread. We are much obliged for your participation especially since you would be our official Historian for tracing the 'humble' beginnings of CM in NA which is a fascinating story, much larger than MS and TS!

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

CMLover/fellow rasikas. Thanks for the generous feedback.
In post# 73 I had alluded to an embarrassing moment in my life--here it is;

After Mamas' death in 1997,Mami did not make any public experiences except the trip to Delhi to accept the Bharat Rathna Award--the only places she would visit were Radha's and my mother's in R.A.Puram. They were in Kotturpuram,I think since the nineties. Even when Mama was alive they had cut down on public outings,concerts and even social occasions except to those houses they were very close to. After mama's death there had to be some discipline on visitors barging in all with genuine intentions no doubt and Athma because he was entrusted with the responsibility of Mami's reputation and welfare,scrupulously executed this responsibility without playing any favorites ,much to the discomfiture of several "old" friends in high places. In 2001,I had gone with my mother(I was still working here in US) to Kotturpuram in the morning with the intention of returning by noon. But then Athma had an urgent assignment that involved making a short car trip outside Chennai limits(otherwise he was spending 24 hours-7 days-365 days in Kotturpuram(his children had grown and got married and his wife was living in their rented house in Annanagar and he would go home to take care of chores but his main focus was on running the Kottur establishment besides attending to his business commitments). So he had sent instructions to me to stay till he returns which I did.

Around 2 P.M. a gentleman with another male assistant shows up-he had grey hair was wearing the typical Kurta,Pyjama with the waist coat. Igreet him in the Poyl of the house--he tells me he is sorry to barge in without an appointment and that he is leaving for Delhi in the afternoon and he wanted to drop in and pay Ms Mami his respects. Like an idiot I am(I had been warned that many people would try to gain access using subterfuges) I was convinced this was another gate-crasher. I politely but firmly told him that he cannot see without an appointment and that he should try the next time he visits Chennai. he insisted saying he will take only 5 minutes and told me to tell Mami that ------ wants to see her and pay his respects. When he mentioned his name my jaw dropped and I was looking for the tiniest hole in Kotturpuram to "crawl"in!!'

Guess who was the person?
PANDIT JASRAJ!!(I must confess I had never been to a live concert of his nor do I own his CD's nor have I seen his picture before so that I could not identify him and he being a modest person he was,never showed me up despite some unintended but unpardonably boorish behavior!! Ofcourse the next 15 minutes of conversation I acted a s an interpreter because Mami's Hindi was rusty and Panditji spoke to her both in English and Hindi intermittently. I atoned for this boorishness in NY when he visited the Hindu temple for a concert of his disciple,did Namaskar and laid my claim to infamy reminding him of the incident he laughed it off much to his grace and credit!!!

Artistes of such stature are entitled to an ego which would have been bruised by such thoughtless moments but Panditji was not !!
In History,I read somewhere about Napoleon's outsized ego. I beleive once when he was doing his "late night rounds in Paris ----just to see what people think of him and his regime--he went in street clothes with the ADC's way behind him- he accosts an old woman with a hunchback,fading eyesight and asks her some questions to which the lady replied indifferently(or so it seemed to the Emperor!!). Napoleon gets put off and asks the woman"You silly woman do you know who I am to which the lady replies WHO ARE YOU? By now incensed, Napoleon answers her:


CORSICAN BY BIRTH,FRENCH BY ADOPTION AND EMPEROR BY ACHIEVEMENT!!!

I do not think this explanation made any difference to the Woman but Napoleon was perhaps happy that he had let off steam!!!

cacm
Posts: 2212
Joined: 08 Apr 2010, 00:07

Post by cacm »

Ramesh,
I am glad you are paying proper attention to Athma's tireless sevices. VKV

rajeshnat
Posts: 9906
Joined: 03 Feb 2010, 08:04

Post by rajeshnat »

MKR Sir,
Your post #73 is superb. Now with the kennedy connection you are slowly becoming like kevin costner in the movie JFK. Just one useful input, since you are going to give long biographies about many, try also documenting or double posting in your notepad(personal pc) and save it . That way you can always choose to present all your daily long writings into a small pdf or a book . That way those who are coming late into this forum will read it.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Rasikas: Just to redirect your attention to posts# 30 and 31 in the Technical Discussions thread where I have posted an MLV-Flute joke!!
Rajeshnat: Your point is well-taken re: "gathering these notes in PDF format etc. Apparently you have forgotten to note my earlier confessions--I am a digital luddite and I can use some help in doing what you are suggesting!!

Thanks anyway for the thought. I have no intention of writing a book but I do not mind writing ad nauseum for Rasikas readers!!

CM lover, thanks for your note on my writing skills(or lack of them!!). The truth is my entire experience in the Book Publishing Industry was in the Business side--Finance Warehousing- My job was to be the gate-keeper for the unrealistic soaring ambitions of Editors like Jackie Kennedy who sincerely believed that there are so many Indophiles in the World who would not hesitate to plunk down $75(almost 20 years ago) for a book on "Obscure Art in the palaces of Jaipur".She and others of her ilk--however well-intentioned they may be--have no idea of the pocketbook economics of most avid readers--the people in high places--her frirends-- who would rave about such expensive "Coffee Table Books(as they are called in the Industry) would all be getting FREE autographed copies(at the Publishers' expense--not from their Royalties!!). Notwithstanding all this I have never met a more gracious,civil person than her.

She was an enigma to the outside world but was still a very quiet,reserved person at work--she bought her own coffee from the Company Cafetaria herself--no secretaries fetching her coffee or doing her errands--like Xeroxing--she would stand in line--when she worked we had not got printers etc!!

baboosh
Posts: 140
Joined: 12 Aug 2006, 17:34

Post by baboosh »

cmlover wrote:MKR
It is great that your anecdotes are provoking other members who have been silent to participate with their side of the stories. History of great persons are built that way with everybody pitching in with their memories and experiences. were it not for Boswell would we have known about Dr. Johnson? Your writing style is ingenuous but fascinating! No doubt you were associated with the book publishing industry as you appear to use correctly the right phrases. We are very grateful to you for opening up after a long time instead of carrying your experiences and stories to the grave. This Forum is fortunate to have your frank unvarnished cogitations and your willingness to answer our queries. I hope you would tolerate my humourous quips from time to time as professionally I believe that humour is the right antidote to relieve tensions and encourage free flow of thought. If it is distracting or you find it non sequitur do let me know and I will be happy to keep mum. The agenda is directed by you and we are all "active" listeners!

VKV

I am glad that you would be willing to open up too in the company of MKR. Two heads are better than one! Please do not quote long posts verbatim since it unnecessarily takes up useful white space! By all means comment and add to what MKR says but if you wish to pursue your own recollections do start a separate thread. We are much obliged for your participation especially since you would be our official Historian for tracing the 'humble' beginnings of CM in NA which is a fascinating story, much larger than MS and TS!
True to your comments,let me also share my short and close association on a couple of times with the couple.Once TS and MS had come to pay obeisance to H.H.Periyava at Kanchi and also to inform about conclusion of a mandalabhishekam to navagraha for Radha mami's health which was asked to be done by H.H.Then TS was standing very close to me.He was also a distant relation of ours though by efflux of time we had lost touch.I mentioned my great grandfather's name,Late.S.Sivaramakrishnaiyer of Trichy and asked whether he remembered him.He immediately replied that he was his cousin and asked about me .I told him I was his great grand son.Then he immediately commented to another relation of ours,Mr.M.G.BalasubramanianI.A.S who accompanied them that the boy(Myself) was closely related to them.Then he enquired about allof us in the family.M.S also gleefully recalled all the past .She also visited my mother when she was conceived with me in her womb.I requested her to record a L.P about H.H more specifically the song,Chandrasekharam aashraye.She replied that she was about to release that shortly.T.S also asked me to visit them at Nungambakkam,but I was put off by their stature.Then also during many concerts I used to greet them and just exchange pleasantries with them.She had also performed at many of our family weddings and other functions witha song or two

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Hi trivia buffs!
You are likely to get a lot of victuals on your plate. Arun, our resident quiz master may be avidly digesting them and will challenge you in due course. Vikram, the Royal Historian from Mysore may also be looking for pearls for his next book. By all means, all of you do so with proper acknowledgements to the authors and sources. Just keep in mind this Forum has no copyright on materials (or liability :) )written here but the authors do :)

MKR
The episode with Pt. Jasraj was quite entertaining. Remember the story of George :)

"Two guys were chatting when the first was blowing the trumpet on George who was internationally best known while the second one was skeptical. Just then they passed a cavalcade led by the Pope. Gleefully the first one pointed to one of the guys and exclaimed : " Look there is George! But I do not know the guy in the funny cap that he is accompanying!" :)

I am eagerly looking forward to the story of the link betweeen TS and PeriyavaaL and the subsequent relationship with MS. Do get to it whenever you are ready...

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

CMLOVER: Just to reassure you all I have not gone into hibernation!!Have been busy last 10 days with the Ganesha Chathurthi Festival here in NY.
I have been thinking hard as to How take this subject forward without boring people.Initially it started with the Gowri Book and later evolved into TS's history and I am ambivalent about readers' interest. I am not soliciting an opinion poll here but I want to respect rasikas' boundaries as to the relevance of what I am writing to the goals of the forum-namely exchange ideas on the theory , practice and appreciation of music.

Feedback would be welcome.As I had written in one of my earlier posts,in response to one of the readers' request for expanding on the 1977 tour and the pre and post 1977 period in their lives,this requires a little bit of introspection as to how to present it without sounding morbid and remorseful.

I will resolve this dilemma and will revert to it soon.

Ramasubramanian M.K
Posts: 1226
Joined: 05 May 2009, 08:33

Post by Ramasubramanian M.K »

Dear CM Lover: I will be posting on the M.S.Amma thread henceforward--so you can follow it there--I will cover the Paramacharya association besides other topics.I will keep in mind your advice about being objective without being gossipy or hurtful.Thanks for the encouragement.

cmlover
Posts: 11498
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:36

Post by cmlover »

Thanks!
Look forward to your exciting anecdotes which entertain as well as stimulate thinking about the gracious musical personalities.

mukundan
Posts: 1
Joined: 24 Sep 2009, 20:53

Post by mukundan »

Hello I'M Mukundan and I thank all the visitors and refferals of my site www.mukundan.co.in.
Regarding the topic of Evarimata of Amma. it is like this that this is ver released in 1934.Note it is not recorded in 34.
two songs where recorded at the age of 10[not eight as people talk abt].Two songs at the age of 14
This is what i have heard from some of my friends who where with hmv factory in dum dum before.

Any way the label says M.S.SUBBALAKSHMI [AGED 10YRS]
MADURA IN the record maragadhavad
In evarimata no age is mentioned

IF required i can scan and post the labels in web
Mukundan

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Post by cienu »

mukundan wrote: IF required i can scan and post the labels in web
Mukundan
Hello Mukundan,

Ofcourse you can scan the labels. :)

raj-123
Posts: 64
Joined: 24 Dec 2006, 20:36

Post by raj-123 »

I got this book from Shri Shankar Ramachandran, Awesome book. thanks for this thread!

cienu
Posts: 2387
Joined: 04 Feb 2010, 11:40

Re: MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion

Post by cienu »

Interesting story by V Ramnarayan - Editor of Sruti, on how this book "MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion" came to be published.
Please scroll down for the article - "The book we made at home"
http://www.msstribute.org/bookrelease.php

rshankar
Posts: 13754
Joined: 02 Feb 2010, 22:26

Re: MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion

Post by rshankar »

Wow Cienu! Didn't really think you were such a slave driver!! Thanks for sharing...

Shreya Devnath
Posts: 10
Joined: 18 Jun 2011, 10:35

Graphic novel (Pictorial biography) on Smt M.S. Subbulakshmi

Post by Shreya Devnath »

Would like to inform you about the First ever graphic novel/pictorial biography on Smt MS Subbulakshmi. Please see the post on Pictures of Melody in this site and visit http://www.lakshmidevnath.com for more details and a preview of the book. Available for purchase on http://www.Kalakendra.com

venkatakailasam
Posts: 4170
Joined: 07 Feb 2010, 19:16

Re: MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion

Post by venkatakailasam »

Initially this thread was started with the Smt.Gowri Ramnarayan's Book and later evolved into TS's history.......

Here is another book....

MS: A Life in Music….A biography of MS Subulakshmi by TJS George,a journalist.. A veteran senior journalist and one of the best known columnists in India and a Padma Bhushan awarde (2011)

I read this book recently….a Harper Collins India Publications....

If you can get hold of a copy, read it...

Malavika
Posts: 3
Joined: 15 Dec 2016, 20:43

Re: MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion

Post by Malavika »

I'm in India.... In Pune.... Where and how can I get this book? I'm searching a lot but I'm not getting!!

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