Renowned Carnatic musician M S Subbulakshmi died at 11.45 p.m. here tonight following "various complications", according to hospital and family sources. She was 88. Her husband, Sadasivam, pre-deceased her in 1997. A Magsaysay Award winner, Subbulakshmi, popularly known as "MS", has no children. Born as Kunjamma in the temple city of Madurai in 1916, Subbulakshmi was a chronic diabetic for nearly four decades. Some months ago, she was admitted to a private hospital, following a complaint of hyperglycemia (steep increase in blood sugar).
The doyen of Carnatic music was admitted to a private hospital on December 2, following a bout of viral infection - broncho pneumonia. Though she responded to treatment, she developed cardiac irregularities from last night. Subbulakshmi, who had also acted in a few Tamil films in her young age, was married to Sadasivam, a well-known figure in the then Madras Congress circles and was a protege of late Rajaji, in 1940. Her first movie 'Sevasadanam' was released in 1938. This was followed by 'Shakunthalai', 'Savithri' and 'Meera', to mention a few.
A globe trotter, MS was the first woman to be awarded the 'Sangitha Kalanidhi', a prestigious title of the well-known Music Academy of Chennai. An ardent devotee of the Paramacharya of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetam, the late Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, the musician received the Ramon Magasasay Award in Manila in 1974 and the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in 1996. She is the only Carnatic musician to have received the award so far.
MS, immortalised many songs, including 'Vaishnava Janatho', a favourite of Mahatma Gandhi, Meera bhajans, Annamacharya kirtans and the like. Gandhi even asked her to sing in his prayer meetings at Sabarmati Ashram. Her career touched its peak in 1966, when she was invited to render a concert before the General Assembly of the United Nations, where she kept the audience, comprising many heads of states, spellbound. She had the rare privilege of rendering songs penned by the late Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, the 69th pontiff of the Kanchi Sankara Mutt, and the first and last Indian Governor General of India, C Rajagopalachari, praying for world peace.
MS also rendered concerts across the globe, including the UK, the erstwhile USSR, USA and France. In 1941, she and her husband, T Sadasivam, a freedom fighter who played a major role in shaping her career, met Mahatma Gandhi at Wardha Ashram. Three years later, she gave five concerts to raise funds for the Kasturba Memorial Trust. In 1947, she rendered a concert on All India Radio on the occasion of Gandhiji's birthday on October 2, during which she sang her famous Meera Bhajans and Tulsidas, Kabirdas kirtans. She stopped singing after her husband's death.
M S Subbulakshmi dead
