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Remembering MS, a human nonpareil

Discussion in 'Cheeniya's Senile Ramblings' started by Cheeniya, Dec 9, 2007.

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  1. Dec 9, 2007 #11
    Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Vidya
    I salute you for your words 'alchemise Kunjamma into what we call MS.'
    No one has ever described Sadasivan's role in the life of MS better than you did through those words.
    Sri
     
    Cheeniya, Dec 9, 2007
    Cheeniya, Dec 9, 2007
    #11
  2. Dec 9, 2007 #12
    Sriniketan

    Sriniketan IL Hall of Fame

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    Another great write up on MS, Sir!

    Who doesn't like her. It was her dedication to singing that made her great on one side and on the other--the philanthropic mind, made her achieve laurels.

    'Kurai onrum illai' is also one among the songs where she had put her heart into it, which goes down into our soul!

    sriniketan
     
    Sriniketan, Dec 9, 2007
    Sriniketan, Dec 9, 2007
    #12
  3. Dec 9, 2007 #13
    Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Sri
    Listening to MS had greater effect on me spiritually than listening to a religious discourse for forty days. Her rendition of Swathi Thirunaal's Bhavayami Raghuramam always took me closer to Rama than hearing all the scholarly discourses of erudite pundits.
    Sri
     
    Cheeniya, Dec 9, 2007
    Cheeniya, Dec 9, 2007
    #13
  4. Dec 9, 2007 #14
    Anandchitra

    Anandchitra IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Cheeniya Sir
    :hatsoff Hats off to this very eloquent and touching tribute thread to a great legend. It was a pleasure to read your personal encounters and in your inimitable way you had written it so well that I regretted when the end came up. The reply posts are of equal value to the lead post (if I may say so). Such a pleasure and privledge to read all posts. Thanks for sharing.
    I had only one chance to hear her sing live. I was studying in Madurai when her concert was arranged and we were allowed to go. It was free. I remember just a few from back then. As in other houses mine too vibrates to her religious albums and I have tried to learn the Vishnu Sahasranamam thru her words. What clarity and depth. Its awe inspiring to say the least. Her kurai onrum illai kanna has to be seen to be believed. she hugs herself and makes us believe there is Lord Krishna standing there before her.
    Thanks again for sharing and writing this thread and thanks to all the wonderful readers and their posts. :hatsoff
     
    Anandchitra, Dec 9, 2007
    Anandchitra, Dec 9, 2007
    #14
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  5. Dec 9, 2007 #15
    Nivedi

    Nivedi New IL'ite

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    Cheeniya Sir,

    I enjoy listening to Carnatic music, although I do not know anything at all about Carnatic Music. The music of MS is soul-stirring. There is so much divinity in it that even a person who has no knowledge about the music or the words will simply stop all that he is doing to listen.

    She was able to break thorugh the predominance of male singers in Kutchery circles. Her utterly self-less and humble demeanor is so striking. My all time favorite is Kurai Ondrum Illai in the sublime verses of Rajaji and the soulful voice of MS.
     
    Nivedi, Dec 9, 2007
    Nivedi, Dec 9, 2007
    #15
  6. Dec 10, 2007 #16
    Chitvish

    Chitvish Moderator IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Sri,
    Being an arednt fan of MS, I come back here again, can't help raving about her.
    Living in Madurai & Chennai has given me so many opportunities to attend her concert.
    Once she came & sat on the dias, there was literally a "glow" on the stage.
    Typically old fashioned with her dress, her blouse sleeves would never be visible - she used to cover herself so beautifully, just the right amount of modesty without overdoing it.
    She popularised the MS blue colour in silk sarees in 50's. The first silk saree, that was bought for me as a teenager was in MS blue on my request !
    She also made popular the wearing of "madi" in typical South Indian style.She had the grace to carry the same, beautifully.
    She was most friendly to any fan, irrespective of whether she knew her on a personal level or not.Her "Meera" songs first immortalised her though "kurai ondrum" etc came later. Who can forget her 'Katrinile varum geetham", "anda naalum vanditatho?", to mention just two.
    Unless I force myself to stop now, I will go on & on about MS, with all my adoration for her.
    Love,
    Chithra.

    PS - you have asked me why I did not follow her singing but only her pottu! You must thank that Carnatic music was saved from disaster, my friend !
     
    Chitvish, Dec 10, 2007
    Chitvish, Dec 10, 2007
    #16
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  7. Dec 10, 2007 #17
    Saraswathipv

    Saraswathipv IL Hall of Fame

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    Hello Cheeniya sir,

    It was a glowing tribute to the legend. I too had the opportunity of personally meeting her in 1986, when I was a school kid.
    My mom's maternal uncle, the late Mi. Pa. Somasundaram,(Sahitya akademi winner, who was also the editor of kalki and director of AIR, Trichy for quite sometime), was a personal friend of MS...he had invited her for the wedding of his daughter. She came home for the engagement ceremony the previous evening. As she arrived, after the initial exchanges of pleasantaries and introduction, my thatha introduced me and my sister to MS. She asked us to be seated besides her...she enquired what we were studying and when we told her that we stay in Orissa and had come down to Chennai for the wedding...she was quick to enquire if we could speak Oriya, the local language there. Her gentle smile was the response to our reply.We were there with her for about half an hour. I do not remember much more of that evening, but ,I know there were gatecrashers as the word of her presence spread in the neighbourhood.
    The next day for the wedding she and mr.sadasivam came and blessed the couple.

    Though I could not realise much then , that not everyone, gets a chance to meet legends, I was proud that I met MS, the one who had enthralled the delegates with her voice in an opening session of the UN general assembly.
    U R right sir...some meetings do leave a lasting impression in our minds....

    Thanx for starting this topic and making me share this with u all..
     
    Last edited: Dec 10, 2007
    Saraswathipv, Dec 10, 2007
    Saraswathipv, Dec 10, 2007
    #17
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  8. Dec 10, 2007 #18
    Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear AC
    Abdul Kalam once said that there two women who had the greatest influence in his life. One was his dear mother and the other was MS. God knows how many are there in the world who equate MS with their own mother! When MS passed away, Kalam flew all the way from Delhi to pay his last sad tribute to the legend and he said on the occasion “One great thing MS did for this country is to give us this rich music to make us into good human beings.MS was born to music, she lived as music and finally merged with the god of music”

    Gowri Ramnarayan once wrote in the Hindu,
    “Towards the end of each recital M.S. would sound the cymbals in eyes-closed concentration for the Rajaji hymn "Kurai onrum illai" (I have no regrets). It becomes obvious that for all the splendour of her music, it is her image as a saintly person which will probably endure for long, just as in the case of Meerabai. For, in the highest tradition of the Indian way of life, Subbulakshmi linked her art with the spiritual quest, where humility and perseverance assure the sadhaka of grace.”
    Sri
     
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    #18
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  9. Dec 10, 2007 #19
    Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Nivedi
    Your words "There is so much divinity in it that even a person who has no knowledge about the music or the words will simply stop all that he is doing to listen." most aptly sum up the effect that the music of MS had on even the novices in music.
    I always felt elevated when I sat in her presence and listened to her music.
    “I dwell not in Vaikuntha. Where my bhaktas sing, there I am, Naradha,” said Lord Krishna. MS had fully understood the implication of the Lord's words and made us feel Krishna's presence through her singing
    Sri
     
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    #19
  10. Dec 10, 2007 #20
    Cheeniya

    Cheeniya Super Moderator Staff Member IL Hall of Fame

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    Dear Chaithra
    Thanks a lot for sharing your experience of MS.
    In her acceptance speech of Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1974, she concluded thus-
    "Indian music is orientated solely to the end of divine communion. If I have done something in this respect, it is entirely due to the Grace of the Almighty who has chosen my humble self as a tool. But He is beyond my gratitude. Yet, in a way, I take Him to have come within my reach in the benign personality of the Sage of Kanchi, His Holiness Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Sankaracharya, who is divinity in flesh and blood, now in his 81st year. I offer my obeisance to the Sage from the core of my being, and pray that he bless me to deserve the honor done to me."
    Her fierce devotion to Paramacharya was well known. When she was cremated, she was draped in a shawl presented to her by the Kanchi Sage.

    Kaatriniley Varum Geetham ( lyrics-Kalki ) is an immortal melody of Indian cinema. Its tune and melody were taken from the song by the famous Bengali singer, Juthika Roy. Her gramophone records were very popular in South India in those years. The original Bengali song was a favorite of Kalki who hummed it often .He suggested the tune to S.V. Venkataraman and, the timeless, song was born.
    Sri
     
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    Cheeniya, Dec 10, 2007
    #20
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