Amjad Ali Khan on M.S. Subbulakshmi: “A Glorious Chapter for Indian Classical Music”

Amjad Ali Khan writes about the life, music and legacy of M.S. Subbulakshmi – or “MS Amma” or, simply, “MS” – and recounts some of his interactions with her. Through his reminiscences, he also remarks on the futility of referring to music as “Carnatic and Hindustani” and recreates the India of artists of another generation.

 

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This chapter on M.S. Subbulakshmi from Amjad Ali Khan’s book Master on Masters is a rare instance of one great exponent of Indian classical music introducing another. This is valuable to readers for two primary reasons. One, who better than Khan for placing the life of a musical legend like Subbulakshmi in the context of the larger legacy of Indian classical music. Secondly, the personal vignettes Khan narrates – instances of his and his family’s interaction with Subbulakshmi, and her family, weaved in with an introduction to her life and music – lends to the reader the feeling of being an insider in the world of classical music. 

We say only ‘classical music’ because Khan is averse to the idea of dividing Indian classical music into ‘Carnatic’ and ‘Hindustani’ music. “Music is music,” he writes. “Swar hi eshwar hai(Music is god). It is our duty to not create a void and distance between the south and the north. Instead, we should address it as Indian classical music of the south and Indian classical music of the north.” He communicates, through this short profile, the sense that there are far more conversations and exchanges between the worlds of classical music from the north and south that those who see ‘Carnatic’ and ‘Hindustani’ music in silos would imagine. MS (as Subbulakshmi is often affectionately referred to as), for instance, trained under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas, from the north Indian music world. She had “great regard and reverence” for north Indian vocalists like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj. Khan himself refers to his “long discussions” with “great musicians of the south”: M.S. Subbulakshmi,Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Balachandra, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Emani Sankara Sastry, Doraiswamy Iyengar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, MS Gopalakrishnan and TR Mahalingam.

There are other divides that Khan’s writing encourages us to reconsider, if subtly. His quick recreation, in the book, of the lives and times of our greatest classical musicians, through reminiscences, as well as the knowledge and insight of a virtuoso who has spent a worthy lifetime in the profession, gives you a sense of the vision such artists had of what constitutes ‘Indian culture’ on the whole. “Music connects the whole world,” Khan writes in his introduction to the book. “It does not belong to any one race or religion.” Also: “Like its music, I hope India will become a symbol of humanity, love, peace, coexistence and tolerance. I pray that our country is able to set an example for the entire globe. I hope we are able to show the world that we can do without arms, war and weapons. I also hope that we stay politically stable and refined. This is the India I’d love to see in the future.”

Khan’s chapter on MS is replete with an easy syncretism, a oneness that flows gracefully between the lines: the relationship between Haafiz Ali Khan Sahab and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer whom Subbulakshmi had trained under; the line in Khan’s speech about “the two Subhalakshmis” in his life – his “mother” and his “wife”, the latter renamed after her parents saw a film with MS – and Subbulakshmi’s response to this; and other personal references. 

Language too, is a wall that the universe of great Indian musicians is capable of transcending with ease. “Subbulakshmi sang in different languages with utmost ease and perfect diction, consulting the right people to ensure correct pronunciation,” Khan writes. She learnt Hindi bhajans from Dilip Kumar Roy, Nanak’s bhajans from traditional Shabad singers and thumri and dadra from Siddheshwari Devi. 

Finally, the chapter gives us a peep into the ethos of this artist’s universe. Subbulakshmi had straddled the spheres of cinema and music at one point. She had acted in a film to raise funds for a magazine her husband had just founded. She had received a thank-you note, in Tamil, from Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi himself, after a series of concerts she did for charity. Other causes she performed for included hospitals, educational institutions and community welfare activities. “MS had seen poverty in her early years and she always had a soft spot for the less fortunate,” Khan writes. “As her fame increased, so did her commitment to charity.” 

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As a young boy, I often heard the name ‘M.S. Subbulakshmi’ but never got an opportunity to hear her music. One day, as I was driving, I found myself listening to a woman on the radio singing in the south Indian classical style. At that time, I wondered: Could this be M.S. Subbulakshmi? The voice was so spiritual and appealing that I could not drive any longer. I parked the car and listened to the rest of the broadcast. At the end of it, the artist’s name was announced, and it indeed was M.S. Subbulakshmi.

Subbulakshmi was known for her exalted rendition of devotional songs and magnanimous support of numerous public causes in India over five decades. Rooted in millennia of Indian culture and mythology, bhajans encourage total surrender to an experience of unity with the Supreme Deity. They are a means of prayer and solace for those whom Bhakti Marg, or the way of devotion, supersedes the more intellectual philosophies. Among her numerous recordings, devotional songs and hymns in praise of Lord Venkatesa, Sri Venkateswara suprabhatam is the most famous and sung most often by devotees. I cannot imagine any south Indian musician achieving the kind of universal acclaim and recognition that M.S. Subbulakshmi attained. Hymns rendered by her reverberate at temples across the country, be it Sri Venkateswara suprabhatam or Sri Vishnu sahasranamam or Adi Shankaracharya’s Bhaja Govindam. Pilgrims, irrespective of which part of the country they hail from, lose themselves in her renditions of these popular hymns.

 

 

Devotional recordings by M.S. Subbulakshmi

 

 

Madurai Shanmugavadivu Subbulakshmi, affectionately known as ‘MS’, was born in 1916 in the temple town of Madurai, the abode of Devi Meenakshi. Her mother, Shanmugavadivu, was a veena player and her first guru. Growing up in an environment rich with music and devotion influenced the path MS would follow. Her first concert was as a child in which she shared the platform with her mother. In her early teens, she performed at a concert in the Mecca of south Indian classical music—the Madras Music Academy. The audience was spellbound by her melodious voice, her perfect shruti alignment and the purity of her notes—it was a performance replete with bhava and bhakti (emotion and devotion).

 

 

 

A rare recording of M.S. Subbulakshmi’s concert at the Madras Music Academy in 1962

 

 

In her early teens, she performed at a concert in the Mecca of south Indian classical music—the Madras Music Academy. The audience was spellbound by her melodious voice, her perfect shruti alignment and the purity of her notes—it was a performance replete with bhava and bhakti (emotion and devotion).

 

MS trained under the legend of south Indian classical music, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, the grandfather of music or ‘Sangeet Pitamah’. Vidvan Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and my guru and father, Haafiz Ali Khan Sahab, received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award in the year 1952  and the fellowship in 1953. In 1988, when we honoured M.S. Subbulakshmi with the annual Haafiz Ali Khan Award, it was presented to her by her guru, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. She also trained with Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas, who belonged to the north Indian music world.

In her quest to enrich her knowledge, she also learnt from another veteran—Musiri Subramania Iyer. She had the rare opportunity of learning a few compositions directly from the well-known composer, Papanasam Sivan, popularly known as the ‘Tamil Tyagaraja’. Thus, her repertoire was amazing—hundreds of songs that were committed to memory and for which she never needed any prompting notes. M.S. Subbulakshmi had great regard and reverence for north Indian vocalists like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan, Amir Khan, Bhimsen Joshi and Pandit Jasraj. The gift of song that touched the hearts of so many of her countrymen resulted from her passionate pursuit of artistic excellence. An enchanting voice, hard work, exacting discipline, honourable character and humility to learn from everyone elevated her to the status of a soloist in her own right at the young age of seventeen.

M.S. Subbulakshmi acted in a few films too— Sevasadanam, Savithiri, Sakuntalai and Meera. Sevasadanam was on the theme of women’s emancipation. In Sakuntalai, based on the epic work of the great poet Kalidasa, she co-starred with G.N. Balasubramaniam, the legendary south Indian classical vocalist. She also played the role of Narada in yet another film to raise funds for the weekly magazine, Kalki. However, it was her portrayal of Meera in the eponymous film, released in Tamil in 1945 and in Hindi in 1947, that made her popular with filmgoers. She left an indelible impression, with both her acting and singing, and thus became a household name. My in-laws, Parsuram Borooah and Khiroda Kumari Borooah, were so impressed when they saw the film that they changed their daughter’s name from ‘Rajyalakshmi’ to ‘Subhalakshmi’. Incidentally, this Subhalakshmi, too, was artistically inclined and became a fabulous Bharatanatyam dancer under the guidance of the legendary Rukmini Devi Arundale, creator of Kalakshetra in Chennai.

 

 

       M.S. Subbulakshmi in the movies (L to R) – Poster for ‘Shakuntala’ (1940); Still from ‘Meera’ (1945); ‘Sevasadan’ (1938); Sadasivam, MS and Ellis R. Dungan on sets of ‘Shakuntala’, Still from ‘Shakuntala’ (1940)

 

 

It was her portrayal of Meera in the eponymous film, released in Tamil in 1945 and in Hindi in 1947, that made her popular with filmgoers. She left an indelible impression, with both her acting and singing, and thus became a household name. My in-laws, Parsuram Borooah and Khiroda Kumari Borooah, were so impressed when they saw the film that they changed their daughter’s name from ‘Rajyalakshmi’ to ‘Subhalakshmi’.

 

 

Once, in Hyderabad in the mid-1990s, a prestigious south Indian sabha was honouring M.S. Subbulakshmi and me with the Sangeetha Sagaram Award. The chief minister, Vijay Bhaskar Reddy, was to present the awards. I have always admired and appreciated south Indian organizations and the way they create spiritually rich award ceremonies. First, Mr Reddy invited MS for the ceremony. She was requested to sit on a beautiful chair while Mr Reddy stood and performed the rituals to honour the legend. Later, when my citation was read out and I went on the stage, the chief minister requested me to sit on the same chair. Until then I had imagined MS had been asked to take a seat because of her age, but I was pleasantly surprised to find the same treatment being accorded to me. Her husband, Sadasivam, had spoken on her behalf. When it was my turn to speak, I saw MS looking at me. In my speech, I said that I was fortunate to have two Subhalakshmis in my life—my mother and my wife. MS gave me a beautiful smile.    

 

L to R: Subhalakshmi Khan, MS Subbulakshmi and Amjad Ali Khan 

 

MS’s husband, Sadasivam, was an imposing, tall figure. He was the proprietor of the popular Tamil magazine Kalki. In him, she gained her ‘friend, philosopher and guide’. Sadasivam passed away in 1997. Just a few months before his tragic death, we had visited their residence. In Chennai, whenever I visit a friend’s home before lunch, I am always eager to have a cup of south Indian filter coffee. But, that day, at MS’s residence, in long steel cups something else arrived! I saw MS watching my expressions as I sipped the concoction. The moment she saw my face and my reaction, she promptly said, ‘It’s Horlicks.’ I nodded. She added, ‘Good for health.’ I said, ‘Yes, of course.’ It was prasaadam for me as it was an offering from the legendary M.S. Subbulakshmi. I visited MS’s residence in Chennai with my entire family on several occasions, and many times she attended my concerts in Chennai. MS was very keen that our whole family should visit Kanchipuram for the darshan of Paramacharya Chandrasekharendra Saraswati, Mahaswami of Kanchi, and in 1988, she made arrangements for our trip.

 

MS Subbulaskhmi and Sadasivam

 

I have had long discussions with many of the great musicians of the south, especially MS, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Balachandra, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Emani Sankara Sastry, Doraiswamy Iyengar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.R. Mahalingam. They all felt it was high time we stopped referring to music as Carnatic and Hindustani. Music is music. Swar hi eshwar hai (Music is god). It is our duty to not create a void and distance between the south and the north. Instead, we should address it as Indian classical music of the south and Indian classical music of the north. Exacting purists acknowledge M.S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs of the Karnataka tradition of south India. They and ordinary people alike find in the compelling melody and sweetness of her bhajans a deep, pure and abstract emotional appeal, transporting them to an elevated experience. She remained a dedicated student with an unquenchable thirst for learning more. She sang in different languages with utmost ease and perfect diction, consulting the right people to ensure correct pronunciation. She learnt many Hindi bhajans from the renowned music composer Dilip Kumar Roy. She learnt Nanak’s bhajans from traditional Shabad singers, thumri and dadra from the renowned Siddheshwari Devi. She was large-hearted and open-minded enough to learn from anybody with all humility.

 

I have had long discussions with many of the great musicians of the south, especially MS, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, Balachandra, Maharajapuram Santhanam, Emani Sankara Sastry, Doraiswamy Iyengar, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M.S. Gopalakrishnan and T.R. Mahalingam. They all felt it was high time we stopped referring to music as Carnatic and Hindustani. Music is music. Swar hi eshwar hai (Music is god). It is our duty to not create a void and distance between the south and the north. Instead, we should address it as Indian classical music of the south and Indian classical music of the north. 

 

MS did a lot for the welfare of community and humanity. In 1944, she gave a series of concerts for the Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Trust and on the occasion the Mahatma gave her a thank-you note signed in Tamil. Many more charitable performances followed for the cause of hospitals, educational institutions, community welfare activities, etc. MS had seen poverty in her early years and she always had a soft spot for the less fortunate. As her fame increased, so did her commitment to charity.

 

M.K. Gandhi’s letter to M.S. Subbulaskhmi

 

In a long and distinguished career, MS received many honours and awards. She was the first-ever musician to be awarded India’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna (Gopalkrishna Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, a bureaucrat and friend working with Rashtrapati Bhavan, had organized lunch in her honour after the award ceremony). She was also the first Indian to perform at the UN General Assembly when she was invited by the UN Secretary-General U Thant in October 1966. In 2016, the UN issued a stamp to mark her birth centenary coinciding with celebrations of India’s 70th Independence Day.

 

We will always miss MS Amma. But her voice, her music, will remain in the minds and hearts of the people who love Indian classical music all over the world. Her death in 2004 marked the end of a glorious chapter for Indian classical music.

 

MS Subbulakshmi receiving the Bharat Ratna

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This excerpt has been published courtesy the permission from Penguin Random House India. You can buy ‘Master on Masters’ here.