Apt to the famous kriti of Saint Thyagaraja endaro mahanubavulu, there are so many great people who have lived on this land. It is a great privilege to us that they lived in our age and Thyagaraja salutes them - andariki vandanamu. When I see the greatness in these people, I am always awestruck as to how could they have lived among the common people and achieve such greatness. One such great person was Madurai Shamukavadivu Subbulakshmi, fondly called MS by all.
The biography of M.S. Subbulakshmi has been well documented. A google search on her name gives a lot of informative pages on her glorious biography. I don't want to write about her life in this blog. Instead, I want to write about her greatness. MS's voice is one of the qualities that makes her live forever! She immortalized a lot of songs. I know lots of people who refuse to listen to any other version of Vishnu sahasranama, Bhaja Govindam and Venkateswara suprabhatam except for the version by MS! Gandhiji once said he would rather hear her speak the lyrics of a bhajan rather than listen to another musician sing it, when MS could not sing a bhajan as she did not know the lyrics. In fact, if one goes to Tirupati Tirumala, MS is always there in the form of her voice. Anyone who listens to MS is bound to get mesmerized by her voice.
One of the greatest qualities of MS that made her stand out of the whole group of carnatic musicians is her Bhakthi (the closest English translation to this word is "devotion"). The art of South Indian classical music has been growing for centuries and stalwarts -- Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chembai Vaidhyanatha bhagavathar to name a few -- have been in the field. But, MS has been praised by her contemporaries and is also a role model for many of the present day musicians. With her sheer bhava of rendering, she brings out the essence of the compositions. One should listen to her "Kurai ondrum illai" to experience the lyrics of the composition of the famous statesman C. Rajagopalachari -- most of us would really feel that we do not have any shortcomings in life. If one wonders how someone's voice can bring out the message of Universal Peace, one should listen to her rendition of "Maitreem bhajata" composed by H. H. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal.
As with any other field, musicians strive for perfection in their art by practising long hours. If one goes to a carnatic music concert, a novice could get lost in the complex alapana and kalpana swaras. It requires lot of hard work to get to be a great musician. But, MS attained greatness with her bhakti. This documentary about MS starts with her rendition of nahendra haaraaya, a perfect example of her bhakti. You can see it when she brings both her hands together and bows to the Lord when the lyrics means to bow to the Lord. At 0:52:09, the narrator talks about this verse (Lord Vishnu talks to Narada):
naaham vasaami vaikunte na yogi hrudayeravau |
madbakthaa yathra gaayanthi thathra thishtaami narada ||
"The Lord says that he will neither be in vaikunta nor in the heart of any sage, but he will be standing wherever his devotees are singing His name. It is said that the Nama (name) is more powerful than the Nami (the one who possesses the name)."
In my opinion, MS's ultimate goal was not name or fame, but bhakti. I am reminded of the following verse from the Bhagavad Gita (Lord Krishna tells Arjuna):
man-manaa bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaaji maam namaskuru |
maam evaisyasi yuktvaivam aatmaanam mat-praayanah ||
"Be ever conscious of Me, be My devotee, worship Me, offer obeisance unto Me; in this way completely dedicating mind and body unto Me, having Me as the supreme goal you will certainly reach Me."
I think MS lived her life by this verse. It is not surprising that she is immortal!
The biography of M.S. Subbulakshmi has been well documented. A google search on her name gives a lot of informative pages on her glorious biography. I don't want to write about her life in this blog. Instead, I want to write about her greatness. MS's voice is one of the qualities that makes her live forever! She immortalized a lot of songs. I know lots of people who refuse to listen to any other version of Vishnu sahasranama, Bhaja Govindam and Venkateswara suprabhatam except for the version by MS! Gandhiji once said he would rather hear her speak the lyrics of a bhajan rather than listen to another musician sing it, when MS could not sing a bhajan as she did not know the lyrics. In fact, if one goes to Tirupati Tirumala, MS is always there in the form of her voice. Anyone who listens to MS is bound to get mesmerized by her voice.
One of the greatest qualities of MS that made her stand out of the whole group of carnatic musicians is her Bhakthi (the closest English translation to this word is "devotion"). The art of South Indian classical music has been growing for centuries and stalwarts -- Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Chembai Vaidhyanatha bhagavathar to name a few -- have been in the field. But, MS has been praised by her contemporaries and is also a role model for many of the present day musicians. With her sheer bhava of rendering, she brings out the essence of the compositions. One should listen to her "Kurai ondrum illai" to experience the lyrics of the composition of the famous statesman C. Rajagopalachari -- most of us would really feel that we do not have any shortcomings in life. If one wonders how someone's voice can bring out the message of Universal Peace, one should listen to her rendition of "Maitreem bhajata" composed by H. H. Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Swamigal.
As with any other field, musicians strive for perfection in their art by practising long hours. If one goes to a carnatic music concert, a novice could get lost in the complex alapana and kalpana swaras. It requires lot of hard work to get to be a great musician. But, MS attained greatness with her bhakti. This documentary about MS starts with her rendition of nahendra haaraaya, a perfect example of her bhakti. You can see it when she brings both her hands together and bows to the Lord when the lyrics means to bow to the Lord. At 0:52:09, the narrator talks about this verse (Lord Vishnu talks to Narada):
naaham vasaami vaikunte na yogi hrudayeravau |
madbakthaa yathra gaayanthi thathra thishtaami narada ||
"The Lord says that he will neither be in vaikunta nor in the heart of any sage, but he will be standing wherever his devotees are singing His name. It is said that the Nama (name) is more powerful than the Nami (the one who possesses the name)."
In my opinion, MS's ultimate goal was not name or fame, but bhakti. I am reminded of the following verse from the Bhagavad Gita (Lord Krishna tells Arjuna):
man-manaa bhava mad-bhakto mad-yaaji maam namaskuru |
maam evaisyasi yuktvaivam aatmaanam mat-praayanah ||
"Be ever conscious of Me, be My devotee, worship Me, offer obeisance unto Me; in this way completely dedicating mind and body unto Me, having Me as the supreme goal you will certainly reach Me."
I think MS lived her life by this verse. It is not surprising that she is immortal!
1 comment:
Heavenly voice, which could kindle bhakti in an atheist even.
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