M.S. Subbulakshmi

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 13 Jun 2011, 10:32

My condolences. I remember her accompanying Smt. MS couple of time in the early 80s in RSM Bangalore.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 13 Jun 2011, 16:00

Thank you all for your kind words and condolences.

harimau · Post by **harimau** » 14 Jun 2011, 17:06

Aditto wrote:
Hello All,

Are there any latest commercial releases of MS's concerts (Audio/Video).

IS there any surviving video recording of the UN concert of MS?

Regards,
Aditya.

Video recording did not become commonplace till the 1970s.

Videotaping equipment in the 1950s and '60s were cumbersome and expensive.

You can read all about it in Wikipedia.

It is doubtful that the UN concert was videotaped. It may have been captured on 8mm or 16mm film because that was the common method of recording live action. I doubt an intrusive device such as a movie camera was brought inside the concert hall to record the performance. Someone who may have been at the concert can answer that question.

If indeed the event had been filmed, it is possible to transfer that to videotape/DVD.

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 14 Jun 2011, 19:47

This brief clipping of jagadOdhArana is labelled as a recording of her U.N. concert:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qli9tU5MJa0

Not sure.

Aditto · Post by **Aditto** » 14 Jun 2011, 20:36

The video clipping is from UN concert only. It was taken from a documentary of MS. I uploaded that piece in you tube to share with my friends

Read in some article, that the concert has been broadcasted many a times. So was wondering if there is any surviving tape for the same.

Regards,
Aditya.

perarulalan · Post by **perarulalan** » 15 Jun 2011, 20:24

Dear forumites,
Is there a complete recording on Smt MSS rendering Sri SubrahmanyAya namaste with veena accompaniment? I could get a 3 minute version of the same! If someone can give pointers to the same, it would be of great help. I suppose it is in the same collection that has Smt MSS rendering Chandram Bhaja and Chetashri with veena accompaniment!

Thanks in advance,
Perarulalan

bala94ms · Post by **bala94ms** » 16 Jun 2011, 06:40

IS there any surviving video recording of the UN concert of MS?

There is a documentary film on MSS, which shows clips from MSS entering the UN concert hall, and paying respect to the audience. It has 2 songs from the UN Concert "Jagadhdhodharana" and "Maitreem Bhajatha". It also shows clips after the Concert is over and MSS receives a flower bouquet. I am not sure if a full Complete Video still exists..
But I always wish to see MSS sing that pristine "Shanakarabharanam" ...!!!!

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 16 Jun 2011, 11:11

Couple of years back, I heard the great-grandaughter of MS, Kum. Aishwarya (?) in Bangalore - actually in a park in JP Nagar. Is she performing ?

bilahari · Post by **bilahari** » 16 Jun 2011, 15:35

G_g, Aishwarya is our cienu's daughter and she does perform occasionally. She sings with a maturity and azhuttam much beyond her years! Definitely an artiste to watch for in the near future.

gardabha_gana · Post by **gardabha_gana** » 16 Jun 2011, 18:49

That's what I guessed. cienu - are you in bangalore and if so where ? I did attend the concert of Vid. Radha and Kum. Aishwarya - which reminded me of MS & Radha! Please do let us know when she performs again.

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 16 Jun 2011, 19:06

There was an article that appeared in The Hindu last year about young Aishwarya. Here's the link: http://www.thehindu.com/arts/music/article386947.ece

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jun 2011, 17:19

Aditto wrote:The video clipping is from UN concert only. It was taken from a documentary of MS. I uploaded that piece in you tube to share with my friends
Read in some article, that the concert has been broadcasted many a times. So was wondering if there is any surviving tape for the same.
Aditya.

Will need to check on this and shall revert if there is any information.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jun 2011, 17:24

perarulalan wrote:Dear forumites,
Is there a complete recording on Smt MSS rendering Sri SubrahmanyAya namaste with veena accompaniment? I could get a 3 minute version of the same! If someone can give pointers to the same, it would be of great help. I suppose it is in the same collection that has Smt MSS rendering Chandram Bhaja and Chetashri with veena accompaniment!

Thanks in advance,
Perarulalan

Unfortunately the truncated version is all that we have

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jun 2011, 17:27

gardabha_gana wrote:cienu - are you in bangalore and if so where ?

I stay in BG Road, Maybe we could meet next week at the Rasikas meet at Sri Nageswaran's house in JP Nagar

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Jun 2011, 17:32

Please find below an article "Melody in pictures" which appeared in the web edition of "The Hindu" dated 16th June 2011.
http://www.thehindu.com/arts/books/article2109871.ece

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 17 Jun 2011, 19:40

Cienu - thanks for the link. Here is the information for overseas customers: http://www.kalakendra.com/shopping/pict ... -2405.html

I am hoping that someone from the Kalakendra team will be able to expalin what the difference is between the two products that are priced differently.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 18 Jun 2011, 06:24

rshankar wrote: I am hoping that someone from the Kalakendra team will be able to expalin what the difference is between the two products that are priced differently.

I presume it could be additonal costs for shipping/courier.

Shreya Devnath · Post by **Shreya Devnath** » 20 Jun 2011, 19:53

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 forum and visit www.lakshmidevnath.com for more details and a preview of the book. Available for purchase on www.Kalakendra.com

Aditto · Post by **Aditto** » 24 Jul 2011, 10:27

Cienu Sir, Any update on the MS UN concert video. I am very much eager to know about that.

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 26 Jul 2011, 14:42

The latest upload to the Paramparaa1916 channel - Smt M.S. performs Bhairavi in all it's majestic grace - Koluvaiyunnade.
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QWmzd7GG4W8
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKOqXCagwKA
The flow of pictures with the song is so apt at every point that one feels one is almost watching M.S. perform this great song! The violin and mridangam accompaniment are simply beyond description!

thanjavooran · Post by **thanjavooran** » 26 Jul 2011, 15:37

Advaitam Avl,
Thanx for the link.
Thanjavooran 26 07 2011

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 14 Aug 2011, 10:50

New upload at Paramparaa1916: Kanjadalayatakshi sourced from a concert performed in 1959. The flow of manodharma in the neraval and swaras is simply outstanding! Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5e4lzv2aFk

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 15 Aug 2011, 07:58

Wishing All a VERY HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! Bharata Maata, wish you a happy 64th Birthday. Here is Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathiyar's "Bhaaratha Maatha Thirupalliyezhucchi" - "Pozhudhu Pularndhadhu" - by Smt MSS and Smt Radha - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCZbLFpTZJI

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 15 Aug 2011, 09:33

It seems like we are in for a real treat today! MS and Dilip Kumar Roy's Duet - Vande Maataram - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sJg7-lY ... ideo_title

kvchellappa · Post by **kvchellappa** » 31 Aug 2011, 21:50

In 1977 or so, Doordarshan telecast MS from Thiruvaiyaru live. Can this not be released as a video commercially?
K V Chellappa

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 16 Sep 2011, 08:36

Today September 16 is MS Mami's Birthday--she would have been 95 years old-I understand that there is a function in Chennai in which our Cienu and his mother are participating.
Cienu please post pictures

It is almost 7 years since Mami passed away and the last couple of years before her death,every year on her birthday my mother would be the first one to call her in the morning(my mother gets up @ 4 A.M. for her morning coffee "fix" a practice she has not relinquished to date!!!) before anybody else could call Mami and wish her . This will be followed by a visit to Kotturpuram with Badam Cake(which my mother was expert at making).Mami because of her Diabetes condition,would take only a small portion of the cake--that kind of food discipline and simple habits is hard to imagine amongst celebrities generally noted for their food indulgence and dietary indiscretions(the late MLV could not resist sweets although they were 'taboo' for her condition!!!). Then the throngs of wellwishers and friends would come and Mami would be simply overwhelmed by the affection and well wishes but quickly recover her poise to ask pertinent questions about the visitors' families,welfare etc in such detail that would make the visitor wonder how such a celebrity lady could remember the 'minutae' of their families--all genuine and sincere. If only all the persons who ever came into contact with Mami were to write a small anecdote about their experiences with Mami, the forum pages would turn into an Epic of gargantuan proportions!!!
Memories,Memories!!! What an honor,privilege and anugraham to have known the Great Lady for over 60 decades and commisserated with during that time for an ordinary person like me sure to be consigned to the dustbin of History!!!

I guess it is about time to renew the MSS Saga after a long hibernation covering the post 1977 era.

In fond remembrance.

varsha · Post by **varsha** » 16 Sep 2011, 08:40

the late MLV could not resist sweets although they were 'taboo' for her condition!!!)

No wonder , it all showed up in the Music of MLV

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 16 Sep 2011, 16:22

Varsha: I could not have said it better--WHY for that matter in terms of grace,civility,dignity(personal conduct as well as her music),supreme selfconfidence without a trace of jealousy and rancor,MLV Amma was no slouch!! It was a treat to watch the TRIO--MSS/DKP/MLV converse in social occasions--no gossip,no lament about how the present generation's standards have deteriorated etc--always praise for how quick the youngsters grasp the nuances of music and still maintain their academic prowess!!

kalyani_ragam · Post by **kalyani_ragam** » 16 Sep 2011, 18:35

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote: ------------no gossip,no lament about how the present generation's standards have deteriorated etc--always praise for how quick the youngsters grasp the nuances of music and still maintain their academic prowess!!

I doubt if current artists qulaity alone has deteriorated. The listeners including the oldies who have experienced some of the best music (rasikas as they are called here...), their quality has also significantly deteriorated so to speak to put up with the nonsensical music that these artists deliver in the name of innovation and experimentation.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 16 Sep 2011, 18:44

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Today September 16 is MS Mami's Birthday--she would have been 95 years old-I understand that there is a function in Chennai in which our Cienu and his mother are participating.

Thanks for the reminder. Wish the function all success!

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Cienu please post pictures.

Yes, Cienu, please do.

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Time to renew the MSS saga

Is that a promise? We will hold you to it!

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 17 Sep 2011, 23:28

Thanks to Sri MKR for post # 526 on the 95th birthday of MS Amma. The function at Krishna Gana Sabha on this occasion was done extremely well. I shall post some pictures & a write up later.
I am posting a picture taken sometime in Dec 1993 on the occasion of Smt Mani Krishnaswamy being awarded the Sangita Kalanidhi title.
Chinani Mami (mother of MKR) is at extreme left.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 18 Sep 2011, 02:37

Beautiful! Cienu, you post the most beautiful pictures!
(Not to digress, but isn't Smt. Mani Krishnaswamy the sole kalAnidhi from amongst kalAkshEtra students/graduates?)

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 18 Sep 2011, 08:17

Cienu: Thanks for the pic!! Your Patti looks gorgeous as ever!! The expression "lakshmikaram" is so apt for MS Amma!!!! While I recall there were the usual "grumblings" about giving Mani Krishnaswamy the title ,Mami was so gracious to "quell" those rumors and was one of the first I believe to call Mani Krishnaswamy and congratulate --always an epitome of grace and dignity.

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 18 Sep 2011, 21:01

Our dear Ceinu sir has uploaded a wonderful vintage video of MS Amma for our joy on Paramparaa1916. Smt MSS and Smt Radha, live at Tiruvarur Mummoorthigal Vizha, 1986 - Dikshitar's immortal Kamalaambike (Todi). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzMKcy9NyI0

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 19 Sep 2011, 00:11

Great video!! For young vidyarthis --especially women--note the Bhavam the sruthi suddham,the ease and fidelity at the lower octaves and equal clarity at the upper octaves--there may be many people with equally good voices,the reach etc but one should not overlook the sadakam and quest for perfection that is radiant in the Thodi Krithi. Mind you, she was 70 years old and the voice still has the timbre and melody of her younger days.

Do we need any more proof than this one sample that such a great artiste captivated the hearts of everyone from the commoner to the cognoscenti!!!
Cienu keep these coming!!

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 19 Sep 2011, 16:12

Kindly find below 2 more links which appeared in connection with the 95th birthday of MS Amma
http://www.firstpost.com/living/the-sub ... 85615.html
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/ms-subbulaks ... 45-75.html

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 19 Sep 2011, 20:44

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Great video!! For young vidyarthis --especially women--note the Bhavam the sruthi suddham,the ease and fidelity at the lower octaves and equal clarity at the upper octaves--there may be many people with equally good voices,the reach etc but one should not overlook the sadakam and quest for perfection that is radiant in the Thodi Krithi. Mind you, she was 70 years old and the voice still has the timbre and melody of her younger days.

Do we need any more proof than this one sample that such a great artiste captivated the hearts of everyone from the commoner to the cognoscenti!!!
Cienu keep these coming!!

You're so right sir! The power that she imbued into her music even at the advanced age of 70 is simply awe-inspiring! She identified completely with her art, more so than most - a very special trait! On seeing this video for the first time, I couldn't see a 70 year old MS, rather MS from the early 70's

advaitam · Post by **advaitam** » 19 Sep 2011, 21:42

Here's a rare vintage recording of MS Amma accompanied by MSG on the violin! Glad to have at long last come across a recording of the 2 together! Mridangam is TK Murthy, MS' genius set mridangist for very long. Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qavruZtjhSk

nirvanaa. · Post by **nirvanaa.** » 22 Sep 2011, 18:08

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Great video!! For young vidyarthis --especially women--note the Bhavam the sruthi suddham,the ease and fidelity at the lower octaves and equal clarity at the upper octaves--there may be many people with equally good voices,the reach etc but one should not overlook the sadakam and quest for perfection that is radiant in the Thodi Krithi. Mind you, she was 70 years old and the voice still has the timbre and melody of her younger days.

Do we need any more proof than this one sample that such a great artiste captivated the hearts of everyone from the commoner to the cognoscenti!!!
Cienu keep these coming!!

Firstly, I must confess that I love your posts and the interesting anecdotes you share from your experiences. As you rightly mentioned, music is mere outflow of expression of the artiste which is bound to touch hearts of the listener if comes straight from the heart of the musician. And sadakam being the margam to score great heights as far as nadopasana is concerned !

However, I would like to share one of the oldest recordings of the same kriti, performed by amma somewhere in 1955 at the Academy. The timbre and quality of her singing is beyond compare.

http://www.sangeethapriya.org/tributes/ ... y_1955.htm

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 23 Sep 2011, 05:07

Nirvana: Thanks for your comments. I do not know whether I had posted in the MSS thread before a frequent "lament" by Mami when it comes to paying her compliments for her voice and melody. Mami's frequent lament whenever a visitor comments on how melodious her sareeram is or any writer commenting on her voice quality-- in Tamil she would say "How easy and trite they(the critic/visitor) makes --little do they know how much sadakam and painstaking efforts I have put in to get every note,lyric right-- At my son's wedding in Chennai in 1995(she was 79 @ that time) after she finished her concert at the reception as my son was helping her get down from the platform, she addressed my son and said in Tamil. "Unakkaha usirai koduthu padinen-"( I gave my life to give this concert"). The audience consisted of Semmangudi mama. Lalgudi Sir,CVN,Ramabhadran and several musicians . She literally sang her heart out--unfortunately Mama(TS) did not want it recorded except a few pieces. Artistes no matter how much fame and appreciation they get still get put off sometimes by well-meaning folks commenting on what they appreciate most in that artiste's music if that compliment smacks of a "gift" from the Gods as if the artistes' efforts had nothing to do with it. Even a jocular remark from Semmangudi Mama" Unakenna kuraichal--Nee purvajanmathile bhagavanukku Tena(honey) abhishekham Panni Irukke" (In your previous birth you have done Honey Abhishekam to God) will irk Mami who will turn around and murmur to my mother or myself --Pathela Ivare Ippidi pesinal ellarum enna ninaippargal,naan edo voice vechundu sramame illama padarathaha ninaichuppargale( If even a knowledgeable person like SSI says won't people also "discount" my music as purely due to my voice without any effort on my part).

Throughout my listening career and interacting with Artistes(mostly as a "fly-in-the-wall" I might add!!) I have found artistes taking umbrage at routine innocent compliments from their rasikas as if it is too superficial and not cognizant of the subtleties in their music--GNB used to say "Nan Koduthal Mattum Podadu unakku athai sariyaha eduthakka theriyanum( It is not enough if I dish it out --- you should be equally capable of absorbing/recognizing/appreciating it").

Artistes in those days had great regard for rasikas who genuinely and knowledgeably appreciated their strengths and not always be flattered by partisan sycophants!!

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 23 Sep 2011, 23:12

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:... Mami's frequent lament whenever a visitor comments on how melodious her sareeram is or any writer commenting on her voice quality-- in Tamil she would say "How easy and trite they(the critic/visitor) makes --little do they know how much sadakam and painstaking efforts I have put in to get every note,lyric right-- ...

Right on! People like MSS in the past and BJ in the current day are praised for their mellifluous voices as if they did not have anything to do with the voice. This whole thing about "God-given" is a double whammy.

First, it detracts from the true value of the artist concerned by portraying the skill as a gift rather than something that was worked at as the above episode illustrates. BJ has mentioned in an interview that all through her childhood her mother woke her up at 5am every day to practise. I am sure everyone realizes that to make a nine-year old kid wake up at 5 and practise is sheer torture. I am sure MSS went through some similar grueling regime as well, maybe even worse given her circumstances. Calling someone's hard-earned skill "God-given" is dismissive in a way that MSS was clearly sensitive about. By downplaying or ignoring their hard work we do these doyens an enormous disrespect but this disrespect is never recognized and corrected. There was a post elsewhere in this forum where mridangam maestro UKS spoke at an event honoring (sadly late) singing maestro TKG and TKG responded that only a maestro can understand the striving of another. The fact that this understanding was apparently not present even in the MSS-SSI interaction as this recounting illustrates shows how sad the situation is in a social sense. I wonder why this is so.

Second, it absolves the discussant from having to figure out what is missing in his/her own practice, whether they did not strive hard enough or the right way etc. The few times I have myself tried to raise the topic of "what do I have to do to sing like MSS" I have met with "No one can sing like MSS." Disappointing, to say the least. I am glad that at least MSS would have agreed with me -- her tremendous achievements had less to do with God-given anything and more to do with her honest hard work and sacrifice and passion. She is richly deserving of a different kind of respect from what the standard encomium affords her.

-Thenpaanan

Ramasubramanian M.K · Post by **Ramasubramanian M.K** » 24 Sep 2011, 00:52

Thenpanna! Very eloquent defense!! An anecdote about the rigors that MS Amma went thro early in her life) she has told me(I had reported it in one of the posts in the MSS thread).

It seems when Mami was about 6 or 7 years old her mother used to wake her up at 5 A.M.,tune the Sruthi Box and start the practice of the Akara varisais etc and then after a few minutes will leave for the kitchen to start the day's cooking chores--with Mami singing without the benefit of the Sruthi Box(the "bellows" would be idle) and after a few minutes the mother would resume the sruthi Box and the test was that the sruthi alignmet should be perfect despite the fact that she had to sing in the interim w/o the benefit of the Sruthi in the back ground.

WHY,in the late seventies during her visit to the US(after she had earned worldwide acclaim at the UN concert in the late sixties), the way she prepared for the Carngie Hall concert(VKV might remember)--we reached Carnegie Hall a full three hours before the concert--TS Mama would not take a chance with manhattan traffic--we lived in Queens(TS mama would ask a simple question, how long it would take to go to Manhattan for the concert and I would "ramble' in typical yankee fashion, it depends on which route we take etc totally oblivious that TS has no patience for such inscrutable irrelevant details when he will cut me short and I will blurt out about 45 minutes-he needed only that info to plan when we should leave the house in full dress etc--no getting dressed in Carnegie hall despite the facilities--no matter how uncomfortable the silk saree would make her feel for almost 2 to 2and half hours before the concert!!. After reaching there Mami will tune the instrument(my wife was the strummer for the concert) and will be a nervous "nellie" as to how the concert would shape up--how the Western audience would react etc--mind you she was over 60 and had won all National Honors(except the Bharath Rathna) besides the International honors at the UN(ten years before) plus other awards. But to her every concert was not only an arpanam(offering) to the Gods but also to the Audience as well--she will go over the items with Radha(to a layperson sitting around and watching this scene this would seem like an unnecessary exercise and wonder about the artist's confidence level ) --she would turn around during this tuning process to ask us(!!!) whether it sounds alright etc much to our discomfort--where is she and who are we to comment on her forte!!!.
I am glad that BJ approaches her music with the same degree of reverence and I would venture to give her the benefit of doubt that it is genuine and not stage-managed!!

cacm · Post by **cacm** » 24 Sep 2011, 02:16

Dear Ramesh,
VERY MOVINGLY DESCRIBED! Thanks.....I think you shd. at least write at least about these kinds of DEDICATION to their art the musicians of that era had in a collection of recollections book. Viswa, MSS, MMI, LGJ etc to just name a FEW of those giants we were privileged to know.......VKV

thenpaanan · Post by **thenpaanan** » 24 Sep 2011, 09:02

Ramasubramanian M.K wrote:Great video!! For young vidyarthis --especially women--note the Bhavam the sruthi suddham,the ease and fidelity at the lower octaves and equal clarity at the upper octaves--there may be many people with equally good voices,the reach etc but one should not overlook the sadakam and quest for perfection that is radiant in the Thodi Krithi. Mind you, she was 70 years old and the voice still has the timbre and melody of her younger days.

Much more than the sruthi shuddham and vocal range that MSS had (which we sadly do not know how to emulate) there is something in this video that is worthy of emulation by one and all in any field of endeavor.

At about 12 minutes in length, the kriti kamalAmbike is easily one of the longest madhymakAla kritis in CM and it is jam-packed with nuance every step of the way. It is actually a monumental kriti in tODi that is seldom recognized. I know because I spent years learning this kriti from a tape of one of SSI's students. The amount of concentration necessary for me to master this kriti was back-breaking plus it has a great many sangathis and embellishments that are not all the obvious tODi phrases. I listened extremely carefully to this rendering and verified that MSS did not skip a single note, not a single phrase, not a single sangati in the entire rendition and I know because her version is identical to the version that I had learnt from. Now the tape that I learnt from was obviously recorded in a studio not a live concert. Yet I noted that there was not a single deviation from this version in MSS rendering. The amount of practice that is required to sing _exactly_ the same way in a live concert on a stage is not to be underestimated. But there is more.

MSS had several choices to make here and ultimately the choices she made speak volumes of her attitude to her art. These choices may not be obvious at a casual glance.

First, she did not cut any corners. Singing this particular kriti is actually quite physically draining requiring continuous concentration because of its delicate and razor sharp phrasing. MSS makes it look easy but that comes from hours and hours of practice I am sure. Our system allows the artist to skip sangatis or simplify them especially if you are a senior artist and you are singing a long kriti and several if not most of our senior artists take advantage of this. But in spite of her age (this is 1986) she does not do that. She took the difficult path -- she sang every sangati without skipping and sang each one with fervor and precision.

Second, she had able vocal support in a young Radha Viswanathan. Most of our senior artists ease back and let the supporting vocalist take care of at least part of the singing. If you notice, MSS did not take rest in any part of the kriti in spite of the fact that she could have and no one would have complained (it is after all the done thing with vocal support!).

Finally, this kriti more than others requires a significant amount of breath control because Dikshitar's phrases do not allow easy breaking up, resulting in long passages without opportunity to take a breath. Most of our senior artists run out of breath and "let it go" in the middle allowing the violinist to fill the gap. Again this is the normal currency of CM and yet MSS does not spend a nayapaisa of it! This only comes not just from tremendous discipline in practice but also self-control on stage. Recalling the other comment by MSS about "giving her life for the concert," I am sure this is what she meant. To sing while running out of breath is torturous but to sing without letup in spite of that means the artist is willing to put up with that torture for the sake of her art.

Now you may argue that I am extrapolating strongly from a single instance. In my listening experience MSS has always had this attitude to every kriti she has rendered every time. Some people look down upon that sort of singing because of the sameness of the rendering over and over. Whatever the esthetics may be, it definitely does not mean that it is easy to do, as this particular example shows.

There is an untranslatable Sanskrit word that would describe her attitude to her music to me and that is "pariSramam". I guess it can be loosely translated as "toil" -- the incessant loving toil of the peasant tilling his field year after year without regard to age, bad weather, or ill-health.

Now tell me, which part is "God-given"?

-Thenpaanan

vasanthakokilam · Post by **vasanthakokilam** » 24 Sep 2011, 09:18

Excellent perspective there, Thenpaanan. Thank you.

annamalai · Post by **annamalai** » 24 Sep 2011, 20:32

Agreed with your points.
God given part is the wonderful voice MSS had.
How many people line-up to listen to Kamalambike (Thodi) by say Pathamadai Sundaram Iyer for example ?

On a similar note, there is a 1936 LP recording of GNB rendering Dharini Telisi (Suddha Saveri) and there is also a GNB's rendition of the same in his 1964 Music Academy concert. Both versions in terms of sangathis are almost identical, after a gap of 30 years.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 24 Sep 2011, 21:02

Attention to the sangatis she had learnt and the need to sing it perfectly each and everytime seem to be the MSS hallmark! I remember an interview with Sri TMK, where he described a lesson with Sri SSI - apparently, in the middle of the lesson, Sri TS and Smt. MSS dropped in...the latter was requested by her guru to join in, and Sri TMK said that he was amazed at how perfectly she sang all the tortuous sangatis even in what was an unscheduled, casual attempt. That is what makes Smt. MSS unique - IMO, she treated every single note she sang (however casual or momentous the occasion, however personal or public the venue) as the carrier of a personal offering from her to the Lord, to be treated with the utmost care and reverence.

rshankar · Post by **rshankar** » 24 Sep 2011, 21:04

annamalai wrote:God given part is the wonderful voice MSS had.

I think the point being made is that the beautiful voice was as much (if not more) the result of 'asura sAdhakam' as it was a gift from God.

mahavishnu · Post by **mahavishnu** » 26 Sep 2011, 01:33

Ravi, excellent points above. I think reducing the glory of Smt MSS's music to just her voice is like reducing Einstein's genius to just neurons.

In the context of her birthday, several eminent musicians that were associated with the great vidushi were interviewed. The reminscing is very sincere and I found the clips very moving. I thought I should post them here.

KV Prasad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTx9X8CQ_XY
RK Shriramkumar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpQC9KECBjk
Vikku Vinayakram: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc87nYqOU

There is also one with HMV Raghu (and a few others too) that you will see linked from vkailasam's channel.

cienu · Post by **cienu** » 27 Sep 2011, 10:24

Further to the post of Mahavishnu,
I wish to thanks vkailasam for the links.
The link above for Vikku Vinayakram does not work, hence I am providing the correct link below:

Sri Guruvayur Dorai & Sri Krishnaswamy (NGS) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3bjAix3Xjg
HMV Raghu : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hNdkqyJRnNE
Sri Vikku Vinayakram: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc87nYqO ... re=related