M. S. Subbulakshmi

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (September 16, 1916 – December 11, 2004) was an Indian Carnatic singer from Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, often considered Asia's Nobel Prize.

Quotes

 * Indian music is oriented solely to the end of divine communication. If I have done something in this respect entirely due to the grace of the Almighty who has chosen my humble self as a tool.
 * Quoted in Ode to a Nightingale.


 * My greatest fear is giving performances. I feel I am responsible for the audience BUT I am also scared of them.

About M.S.

 * Even if Subbalakshmi merely recited the words of her songs without singing them, he would prefer to hear them than anybody else.
 * Mahatma Gandhi quoted here.


 * Subbulakshmi, when singing, comes closer to God and the same happens to those who listen to her.
 * Mahatma Gandhi after listening to her songs 'Vaishnav Janato' and 'Hari Tum Haro' quoted in


 * Oh! Who am I; a mere Prime Minister before the queen of song.
 * Once Pandit Jawhar Lal Nehru heard Subbalakshmi when he could not help exclaiming, as quoted here in "Greatness of Spirit: Profiles of Indian Magsaysay Award Winners", page=58.


 * Sarojini Naidu repositioned her own title of Nightingale of India on to Subbalakshmi’s avian frame, it was because that daughter of Bengal saw the gift of song arriving and alighting on this daughter of India’s south, like a migratory bird from the collective genius of our music.
 * Gopal Gandhi in his book


 * She incandesced as she sang. Her singing voice employed more than the process of phonation, more than the scope of the larynx.
 * Gopal Gandhi in his book of "A Certain Age: Twenty Life Sketches", page=166


 * Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate).
 * Quoted here.


 * M.S. had long ago been anointed Bharat Ratna by the people of India, with her art recognised and cherished by anyone with a modicum of cultural intelligence
 * H.Y. Sharda Prasad quoted here.


 * The singing legend lives on her suprabathams (morning prayer songs) and bhajansbhajans.
 * Quoted in Ode to a Nightingale in "The Complete Guide to Functional Writing in English}, pages= 11-12


 * Subbalakshmi was indeed the icon who could bring the world to its knees:her rendering moved Yehudi Menuhin to tears, Bade Gulam Ali Khan called her "Suswaralakshmi Subbulakshmi", while  Helen Keller once said “You sing like an angel”. She could captivate the people with an occasional lift of an eyebrow and a beatific smile-meant not for the audience but for the divine.
 * Quoted in Ode to a Nightingale in "The Complete Guide to Functional Writing in English}, pages= 11-12