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Sep 16, 1916 Subbulaksmi is
born. She has
two siblings:
Her brother Saktivel is 2
˝ years
older and siter
Vadivambal is 6-7
year younger. |
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The
house in
Madurai
where MS
and her
siblings
were
born. |
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1926 -
Age 10
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Debut at Madurai
Sethupati High
School. Sang a
Marathi song
Anada Ja when
her mother
requested her to
sing. "The first stage
appearance?
"When it
happened, I felt
only annoyance
at being yanked
from my
favourite game -
making mud pies.
Someone picked
me up, dusted my
hands and skirt,
carried me to
the nearby
Sethupati School
where my mother
was playing
before 50 to 100
people. In those
days that was
the usual
concert
attendance. At
mother's bidding
I sang a couple
of songs. I was
too young for
the smiles and
the claps to
mean much. I was
thinking more of
returning to the
mud." "
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Mother Shanmugavadivu |
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1926
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First Recording
- Maragatha
Vadivum ( Raga :
Chenchurutti)
with
Shanmugavadivu
playing veena
and MS singing.
Released by the
Twin recording
company. Vinyl
Disc has
Oothikuzhiyile
on other side. |
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Young Subbulakshmi
with
thick
curls
and a
puff
sleeve
blouse |
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""You can see it
in the old
pictures," she
laughs. "A side
parting in thick
curls pressed
down with lots
of oil, a huge
dot covering
most of my
forehead, the
half saree
pinned to the
puff-sleeved
blouse with long
brooch and
longer safety
pin, eardrops,
nose-rings and
bangles of
imitation
gold... Oh, I
forgot. The long
plait was tied
up with a banana
stem strip! Or a
ribbon which
never matched."
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1933 -
Age 17
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First Concert at
Music Academy,
Chennai. MS
fills in for an
ailing Ariyakudi
Ramanuja Iyengar. "Of her
debut at the
Madras Music
Academy when she
was 17, a
connoisseur
wrote: "When
she, with her
mother by her
side (who played
the tambura for
the daughter),
as a winsome
girl in her
teens, ascended
the dais in 1934
and burst into
classical songs,
experienced
musicians of the
top rank vied
with one another
in expressing
their delight in
this new find."
Chembai
Vaidyanatha
Bhagavatar came
forward with
loud hyperboles.
Tiger
Varadachariar
nodded approval.
Karaikudi
Sambasiva Iyer
was to say
later: "Child,
you carry the
veena in your
throat."
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M.S.Subbulakshmi
in
Chennai |
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Sadasivam meets
Semmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer
for the first
time
"Semmangudi's
acquaintance
with M.S.'
husband, T.
Sadasivam, began
with their
serving as
judges in the `khadi'
section of the
swadeshi
exhibition
during the
Mahamakham
festival at
Kumbakonam in
1933. Semmangudi
claimed not only
M.S. but also
Sadasivam as his
disciple, having
taught him to
play cards. At
times he even
joined M.S.'
concert tours -
as Sadasivam's
rummy crony. "
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1935 -
Age 19
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Concert at Sri
Dakshinamurthy's
household
wedding
"Kunjamma
(as she is known
to those close
to her), brought
up with all the
rigorous
strictness that
her mother could
impose upon her
training in art
as in life, had
sung at a
wedding in the
household of
Dakshinamurti
Pillai, the
venerable
percussionist
from Pudukkottai.
The event had
drawn a galaxy
of artists -
including the
upcoming
Semmangudi
Srinivasa Iyer,
Musiri
Subramania Iyer,
Chembai
Vaidyanatha
Bhagavathar,
Rajamanickam
Pillai,
Rajaratnam
Pillai, Palghat
Mani Iyer, G.N.
Balasubramanian
and the Alathur
brothers.
The next
day, in the
midst of this
starry assembly,
Dakshinamurti
Pillai suddenly
smote his head
with vehemence.
"Andavane!"
(oh God!) How
will you save
your throats for
a lifetime if
you engage in
vocal
gymnastics?
Leave all that
to us drummers.
Singers must emphasise the
raga and the
bhava so that
you preserve
your voice and
let it gain in
timbre. That
little girl
there, she knows
this already.
Didn't we hear
her yesterday?
Wasn't it
satisfying?
Touch our
hearts?"" At
that public
praise, Kunjamma
shrank even more
behind her
mother in the
corner. "
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A
Young Subbulakshmi
in an
informal
Photograph |
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1935
( approx)
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Meets Sadasivam
for the first
time when he
comes for a
photo shoot
related to the
Ananda Vikatan
Deepavali Malar |
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An Early
Picture
of
MS
and
Sadasivam |
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1938 -
Age 22
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Seva Sadan
released
Seva
Sadhanam (1938)
“Subrahmanyam
introduced a
number of
artists to a
career in films,
foremost among
them being the
Carnatic music
stalwart M.S.
Subbulakshmi.
Seva Sadhanam
championed the
cause of women's
equality. Based
on a novel by
Premchand, the
film was a
bitter attack on
the dowry
system, which
often compels
poor young girls
to marry older
men. The film
forcefully
discussed the
havoc caused by
the
incompatibility
between such
couples and
sympathised with
the victims.
Subrahmanyam
introduced M.S.
Subbulakshmi as
an actress in
the film, which
was a big
success.”
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M.S. in Seva
Sadanam |
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1940 -
Age 24
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1940 - Isai Vani
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MS
with
little Radha,
niece
Thangam
and
nephew
Ramachandran |
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July 10, 1940
Marriage to T
Sadasivam at
Thiruneermalai
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Sakuntalai
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Sakunthalai |
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