A Great Singer - MS Subbulakshmi

Madurai Shanmugavadivu Subbulakshmi, or MS

There is a furor these days over Rashmika Mandanna bringing this yesteryear Carnatic singer to the big screen. WhatsApp forwards fly back and forth; some think the portrayal might be interesting, while others are upset that Vidya Balan isn't playing the role. Several Tamil mamis are furious that a Kannadiga hudgi has been cast, muttering that she doesn't look or dress like MS—not wearing 'dimon' ear studs or the double nose studs. They also complain that the song played at the release program was a Purandara Dasa song in Kannada, not Tamil, and so on. You see, so many people have taken her to heart and grown up with her presence on the airwaves and at concerts all their lives that they believe the pristine image in their minds and hearts ought not to be tarnished or even slightly altered. That was MS's allure.

MS features in my earliest memories. We had a wind-up 'record player,' and our waking hours were filled with Suprabhatam drifting through the air, combining with kitchen smoke and the aroma of filter coffee, along with the heavenly smell of dosas sizzling on tawas over sawdust stoves. After years of playing, those records had umpteen scratches, but never skipped!

MS came from the Isai Vellalar Devadasi tradition. Known as Kunjamma in childhood, she was born in Madurai on September 16, 1916, to the eminent veena artist Shanmukhavadivu. Her maternal grandmother, Akkammal, was a violinist. MS performed publicly in Madurai at age ten and recorded her first disc in Bangalore at thirteen. Her acclaimed 1932 performance at Kumbakonam's Mamankham festival led to her first major concert in Madras. In 1935, a fortuitously vacant slot in the Music Academy's annual season brought her wider notice. Fascinated by the HMV logo and records, young MS says she rolled paper into a cone and sang into it for hours. When her mother persuaded HMV to record her, the opportunity launched the 13-year-old's musical career. Later, the stage microphone amplified her vocals, transmitting their fine details. Her guru, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (the Sangeetha pitamaha), brought depth and grandeur to her music and taught her majestic compositions.

In early 1936, MS met T. Sadasivam, an advertising manager at Ananta Vikatan and a noted freedom fighter. Assigned to coordinate the magazine's feature on the rising singer, he interviewed her several times. Spellbound by her talent and grace, he continued to hover around, handling errands, concert schedules, and music-industry advice.

Tragedy struck the Madurai household when MS's talented younger sister died mysteriously. Hoping to settle her elder daughter, MS's mother arranged a match with the Ramanathapuram raja's family. MS refused, wanting to develop as a musician before marriage. When her mother began arranging an alliance with a wealthy chettiar, MS left for Madras in a huff. She knew a congressman who had secured a few concerts for her, as well as T Sadasivam. The congressman quickly put her in touch with Sadasivam, bringing MS into his household.

The situation soon brought scandal and tragedy: Sadasivam's wife, who had two daughters with him, was recovering from her second delivery at her father's home. Sadasivam later arranged for MS to act in the movie. Still, Shanmukhavadivu, her mother, objected, sparking arguments, fights, and even plans to kidnap MS. MS maintained her stance, virtually broke with her family, and stayed in the Sadasivam household.

Shared political views strengthened their friendship. Active in India's independence movement, Sadasivam supported the nationalist cause, while MS regularly performed at fundraisers. Her talent and golden voice, along with Sadasivam's management, boosted her popularity. He secured her first film role, which led to her romance with singer-actor GN Balasubramaniam (GNB). They starred in the Tamil film Sakuntalai (1939–40), with GNB as King Dushyanta and MS as Shakuntala.

For decades, Madras's conservative music establishment erased or downplayed this intense chapter in MS's life. The age-old affair surfaced when biographer T.J.S. George exposed it in his groundbreaking 2004 book. By the late 1930s, GNB had revolutionized Carnatic music. Six years older than MS, he was handsome, highly educated, and famous for his revolutionary singing style. Fascinated by his artistry, MS developed an "affair of the heart" with him. His musical genius deeply shaped her vocal style, phrasing, and technique.

Already married to Apithakuchambal, Sadasivam had two daughters, Radha and Vijaya. MS grew close to the family and supported them through Apithakuchambal's illness, which ended in Apithakuchambal's death in 1938. Until then, Sadasivam strived to balance the two women, often sending his wife to Malabar to stay with his sister Radha and her husband. Though MS and GNB were growing close, rigid social norms and Sadasivam's scheming doomed their romance. After a weak attempt to sabotage GNB's career, Sadasivam married MS on July 10, 1940. Marrying Sadasivam gave MS respectability, security, and a path to becoming an upper-caste cultural icon. GNB loved her but was married and wouldn't leave his family. MS chose devotion to Sadasivam. Nevertheless, after their 1940 marriage, TS controlled her public and private life as her manager, PR director, financial controller, and gatekeeper. In practical terms, she was a caged nightingale.

Sadasivam and his friend Krishnamurthy then launched Kalki, a highly successful magazine that advocated Indian independence and celebrated Tamil culture. She funded it with earnings from a film in which she played Narada. With MS's financial sacrifices, Sadasivam's planning, and Krishnamurthy's renowned writing, Kalki succeeded.

On the musical side, Sadasivam felt that GNB's intellectual, brisk style was too aggressive and masculine for MS's "devotional icon" image. He therefore guided her onto slower, more emotional, contemplative music and recast her from the glamorous actress in films like Sakuntalai into a saintly, maternal embodiment of Bhakti (devotion). The shift proved ingenious: her emotionally rich, devotional style enthralled audiences worldwide, culminating in legendary performances at the United Nations and Carnegie Hall.

Conversations between Dwaram Mangathayaru and Amanda Weidman suggest a possible reason for the special pathos in MS's rendering of Rama Nannu Brova. The late Dwaram, an accomplished violin accompanist to many luminaries, including MS, believed the sadness in MS's performance reflected a period of unhappiness in her life, brought about by Sadasivan's manipulations. MS sings: Have you at any time found me seeking money from any quarter whatsoever, to lead an indolent, artificial life of pomp and luxury? Have I been roaming about, bloated with haughtiness and indulging in sinister, unscrupulous acts? O Rama! Won't you come and protect me?

M.S. Subbulakshmi's film career spanned just nine years (1938–1947) and five films. At 31, after Meera brought her national adoration and economic security, she left cinema to devote the next five decades exclusively to Carnatic music, spirituality, and public charity. MS's transformation started with Meera. She engaged deeply in the role, and its influence stayed with her. A national success, Meera brought the small-town South Indian singer into the headlines. Sadasivam ensured that MS never acted again, preserving Meera's image of divinity and dignity.

Ellis Dungan, her Meera director, says: "I couldn't get MS into the angry, fighting mood the dialogue required. So, I went back and berated her, telling her how much time and money she'd wasted on retakes and how disappointed I was. I even threatened to stop shooting unless she shaped up. What hurt most—and brought tears to her eyes—was when I called her a lousy actress in front of the crew (though she wasn't). Then I stormed off. She was shocked, but it worked. Her husband comforted her. After drying her eyes, MS grew angry with herself and me, then turned to King Dushyanta and 'let him have it full blast'. Luckily, the lights, camera, and sound were running. It was the finest acting she had ever done. I was so pleased and proud that I embraced her in front of her husband and the crew. Sometimes, 'tricks of the trade' are needed to get the desired result."

Some snippets from her life

The popular MS Blue shade of Kancheepuram silk sarees is named in her honor. Master weaver Kanchi Muthu Chettiar and local artisans in Madurai created this unique, vibrant royal blue especially for MS.

MS recalled that her family grew up poor and couldn't afford costly coffee beans, so they drank coriander coffee (Kothamalli Kaapi): roasted coriander seeds boiled with a little milk and jaggery. "We had coriander coffee in the morning. We had rice and buttermilk at night." I'm unsure whether her brew included pepper.

Visitors and musicians mention that Kadayanallur Venkataraman, the resident musicologist, often prepared or perfected her special chukku kaapi, in addition to helping her tune her songs. He also served as her tambura artiste, meticulously tuning the drone to her exact vocal pitch before she sang.

Her Tamil Isai activism was significant and led the MMA to temporarily ban her. By the early 20th century, Carnatic concerts were dominated by Telugu compositions composed by Tyagaraja, Syama Sastri, and Muthuswami Dikshitar's Sanskrit works. The Madras Music Academy and traditionalist vidwans insisted that major classical sections be performed in Telugu or Sanskrit. In 1941, Raja Sir Annamalai Chettiar and fellow patrons launched the Tamil Isai Movement, seeking equal representation for Tamil songs in the main classical segments of concerts. MS showed her rebellious side by backing the movement encouraged by her husband, T. Sadasivam, and writer Kalki Krishnamurthy. She worked with Tamil composers to compose and adapt classical Tamil pieces. The Madras Music Academy banned her from its stage for several years in the mid-1940s because she performed at rival Tamil Isai Sangam concerts. Sadasivam and MS responded by helping establish rival sabhas, including Mylai Sangeetha Sabha, and by supporting Tamil Isai concerts. MS's popularity drew huge crowds, demonstrating Tamil Isai's artistic and commercial appeal. The boycott ended around 1947; after prominent figures intervened, the Academy invited her back and accepted Tamil compositions in mainstream Carnatic music.

Another story concerns MS. and S. Balachander's tirade against Swati Tirunal and Semmangudi. In the early 1980s, Balachander argued that Swati Tirunal was a historical myth—that even if he existed, he had not composed the hundreds of Carnatic works attributed to him. He claimed the royal court fabricated the corpus, and that 20th-century musicians set modern lyrics to music, credited them to Swati Tirunal, and presented them as ancient heritage. Balachander accused Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, principal of the Swathi Thirunal Music Academy in Trivandrum and the man behind the compositions, of fraud and forgery. MS, Semmangudi's disciple and a champion of many of these compositions, was directly in Balachander's crosshairs. He publicly pressured top musicians, including MS, to stop performing works attributed to Swati Tirunal. She remained silent on the controversy but continued singing them in concerts. These successes showed music lovers that MS and her contemporaries, M.L. Vasanthakumari and D.K. Pattammal, had breached Carnatic music's male, patriarchal, feudal domain and rewritten kutcheri culture.

After the 1940s, following MS's success as a singer and Sivanandam's with Kalki, the couple moved to Sladens Gardens in Kilpauk, formerly occupied by K. Ramunni Menon and his family. Sir Ramunni Menon's remarkable story involves the Cochin Raja, his excommunication and banishment for crossing the oceans, and his life in Madras. I'll tell it someday. They renamed the two-acre estate Kalki Gardens, which became the headquarters of their magazine and later a cultural hub where leading musicians, artists, and political figures gathered. Musicologist Indira Menon was born there. "My mother had a tough time delivering me," she later recalled. "Many years later," she continued, "I went to Kalki Gardens with my mother and was shown the room where I was born. Imagine my thrill when MS told me that it was her boudoir!" Indira later wrote a book featuring MS as one of the women of the quartet.

Her 1963 Edinburgh International Music Festival performance introduced Carnatic music to a large European elite. She then performed at London's Royal Albert Hall, where Queen Elizabeth II heard her celebrated singing.

In 1955, 74-year-old Helen Keller toured India for 10 weeks as an international counselor for the blind. During her South India journey, she visited Madras and met MS. Deaf and blind, Keller experienced the world through touch and vibration. As MS sang a classical raga, Keller placed her fingertips on MS's throat and vocal cords, felt the vibrations, and exclaimed, "You sing like an angel!"

At Meera's Delhi premiere, Sarojini Naidu introduced MS and, moved by MS's egoless performance, proudly surrendered her lifelong title, "The Nightingale of India."

Underneath her saintly public image, MS enjoyed sensory luxuries. Disciples recalled her lifelong love of French perfumes, jasmine in her hair, and fine glass bangles. In later years, she personified classic South Indian style with heavy kumkum, diamond nose studs, jasmine, and red lipstick. Family friends and biographers, including Shoba Narayan, noted that she wore lipstick.

Women in North India traditionally pierce the left nostril, while those in South India favor the right. MS pierced both nostrils and wore a double mookuthi, inspired by Goddess Kanyakumari and Goddess Meenakshi of Madurai, who are shown with symmetrical, blazing nose ornaments. She popularized the "8-Stone Besari," a central diamond surrounded by seven matched diamonds, reportedly "Blue Jager" diamonds. Deeply attached to her mookuthis, MS rarely removed them. Even during her late-life financial downfall—when she sold her mansion, liquidated assets, and donated prized possessions—she kept the twin studs on her nose.

On concert days, MS adhered to Sadasivam's strict schedule. By 2:30 PM, hours before her evening performance, she arranged her pressed sari, blouse, fresh jasmine, kumkumam, and Blue Jager diamond studs upon a velvet tray. She cleaned and polished the diamonds before each concert to keep them free of dust and makeup. Performing barefoot, she sat with legs crossed so audiences could see her feet. She wore traditional South Indian silver chain anklets and, in keeping with marital customs, silver metti toe rings on the second toe of each foot. At "Kalki Gardens" and later, MS followed the South Indian custom of banning footwear indoors. She kept the floors pristine for daily puja and intensive musical practice.

Lata Mangeshkar admired MS Subbulakshmi, calling her a "Tapaswini" and "Swar Ganga." She felt MS's voice was pure prayer rather than commercial entertainment. MS praised Lata's melodic exactness and the emotional range of her playback singing. In 1994, when Lata's family foundation selected MS for an award, MS said that age and ill health prevented her from traveling. Lata immediately flew to Madras to present the award in person.

MS performed at many events in Kerala. At India's first rocket launch, held at the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) on November 21, 1963, MS sang the inaugural hymn. She attended with Sadasivam and dignitaries, including Indira Gandhi, Homi Bhabha, and Vikram Sarabhai. She performed in Calicut, Cochin, and Trivandrum, visiting Calicut twice: once to perform and once for a wedding. During her performance visit, she and her husband, T. S. Sadasivam, stayed with local host Radha Padmanabhan, an MCC lecturer. Radha recalls MS's strict vocal routine: idlis with chutney and raw bitter gourd salad before performances, plus daily prayers at a portable wooden altar. MS's second visit was for Lakshmi's wedding, daughter of SV Sivaramakrishnan. She attended with Sivanandam; guests included JD Dave, KP Kesava Menon, and the Jagadguru Sankaracharya of Dwaraka.

Unfortunately, the couple encountered an unfortunate turn. Sadasivam was an astute PR mastermind yet a poor financial manager. Kalki's decline, legal battles, and operating losses drained their coffers. His political patron, Rajaji, died in 1972, and Tamil Nadu's changing political and media scene made the publications financially unsustainable. Because MS had vowed never to charge for charity concerts, they had no safety net. As always, MS and Sadasivam believed that her musical gift belonged to the public, not to personal luxury. Together, they raised over ₹4 crores and gave more than 200 benefit concerts. By 1977, these losses had left the family deeply in debt, forcing Sadasivam to sell Kalki Gardens. The elderly couple moved to a small house in Nungambakkam with their few belongings.

Upon learning of the couple's financial distress, the Paramacharya of Kanchi and Sathya Sai Baba contacted TTD Executive Officer Prasad. He commissioned MS and Sadasivam to record rare Annamacharya compositions and Sanskrit hymns for the trust. Knowing MS would donate the proceeds, TTD arranged the contract through HMV Records. HMV then placed earnings and royalties into fixed deposits in the family's name, providing guaranteed monthly income for life. The project produced the legendary multi-volume "Balaji Pancharatnamala," released in 1980.

T. Sadasivam's death on November 21, 1997, plunged M.S. Subbulakshmi into grief and silence. He had been her husband, mentor, protector, and companion for 57 years. After his death, she stopped even singing casually at home, turning instead to meditation and prayer.

Her final years were quiet and dignified. She and Sadasivam had donated her concert earnings to charity, leaving MS with little personal wealth. A person who had diabetes for nearly 40 years, she developed a severe viral infection on December 2, 2004, which progressed to bronchopneumonia. Admitted to St. Isabel's Hospital in Madras, she later slipped into a coma. MS died peacefully in her sleep at 11:30 PM on December 11, at age 88.

MS formed an inseparable bond with her eldest stepdaughter, Radha Viswanathan. She rigorously trained Radha in classical music, and from age five, Radha sat next to her onstage, providing vocal support. For nearly 50 years, they toured the world as a renowned duo, often joined onstage by her younger daughter, Vijaya, on tanpura. Though an undisputed legend, MS never improvised on the spot: she practiced each piece repeatedly with Radha until their voices blended perfectly. She also spent hours sustaining Sa to steady her breath and achieve perfect pitch onstage.

Sadasivam's grandchildren and great-grandchildren, vocalists S. Aishwarya and S. Saundarya, were raised by MS and are recognized as her musical and familial heirs. They carry on the "MS Bani" today.

MS fascinated audiences and lives on in their hearts. Yet she was also an ordinary person, facing fortune and hardship, fear and ego, while her husband, Sadasivam, carefully guarded her unblemished image. Her remarkable life spanned from fleeing conventional restrictions in Madurai as a girl to singing for peace at the United Nations as a global icon—and quietly giving her fortune to treat blindness and educate children.

Coming full circle, my choice for the role would be Srividya, yesteryear's (late) actress and an expert classical vocalist trained by her mother, M. L. Vasantakumari—one of Carnatic music's female trinity, alongside M. S. Subbulakshmi and D. K. Pattammal. Vidya Balan might also have been a better fit, but who knows how Rashmika will do? The film likely focuses on MS's younger days. Let's see.

References

MS: A Life in Music - TJS George

Of gifted voice: The Life and Art of M.S. Subbulakshmi - Kesav Sesiraju

Singing the Classical, Voicing the Modern: The Postcolonial Politics of Music in South India - Amanda Weidman

A Southern Music - TM Krishna

Madras Quartet – Indira Menon

Several news articles & magazines (Hindu, Madras Music Academy)