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Ekadasa Rudrabhisheka Homam on 21st August. Book your archana
Carnatic Music Vocals
With a special thanks to
surasa.net, malayalavedhi.com and kannadaaudio.com
They are
the two giants of Carnatic music. They have become
legends in their lifetime and are household names in
India. Their contribution and influence on Carnatic
music is something which no one has ever achieved
during the last two centuries. And yet they are so
totally different in their attitude, style, lifestyles and even in
their cultural backgrounds.
Smt.
M.S.Subbulakshmi (16-Sept-1916 - 11-Dec-2004)
She was
born in a Devadasi family (traditional temple
dancing & singing girls) in the temple town of
Madurai on September 16th, 1916. Their tiny home was
close to the Meenakshi temple. Her mother Madurai
Shanmukhavadivu Ammal was a Veena player. Her
lawyer-father Subramania Iyer lived a few streets
away.
Her
first guru Madurai Srinivasa Iyengar passed away
rather too soon. But she kept practicing on her own
and having a musician mother helped a lot. Her first
recording was at the age of ten, when she recorded a
couple of songs for HMV in Madras as an accompanist
to her mother. She started giving concerts at a
tender age, first by accompanying her mother and
then as a solo vocalist. She was the child prodigy
of Madurai. Her mother recognized MS's exceptional
talent and shifted from Madurai to Chennai (then
Madras) to launch MS on her own. When her mother
performed at concerts, MS was the vocal accompanist
- she was only 13.
She gave
her first performance at the prestigious Madras
Music Academy at the age of 17. She went up the dias
at the festival to sing for the most elite gathering
of music lovers in Madras. Till then stage classical
music performing was a male dominated
profession. The few ladies from the dancing girls
lineage who ventured onto the stage were more intent
on bewitching potential lovers with come-hither
smiles and body language. But in this case it is her
absolute devotion to her concert, a rich and clear
voice, a very dignified presence on the stage which
enticed the listeners and held them spellbound as
she took them through the intricacies of Carnatic
music. She essayed into serious elaborations of
ragas without apparently being aware that she was
breaking fresh ground as a female vocalist. And
soon, the young and beautiful MS had a major cult
following.
In 1936
she met Sadasivam Iyer, a well known figure in the
Madras Congress circle, and a protégé of the
Congress leader Rajaji. The courtship lasted for
four years and had its up and downs. Friends recall
that at times M.S. seemed like backing out of the
relationship, because of Sadasivam's possessiveness.
But such spells did not last long and she was a
contented happy woman when the couple were married
in Thiruneermalai, in 1940. He gave up his job as
the advertising manager of 'Ananda Vikatan', a
leading Tamil magazine, and concentrated on guiding
MS's musical journey. With his wide connections in
the journalistic and political world, he became
instrumental in the continued success of her already
flourishing career. He was a tall personable man
with a can-do attitude. He was a widower with two children. Such was the man who was to
change M.S.'s life for forever. Soon he started his own
magazine "Kalki", a nationalist Tamil weekly. The part
of 'Kalki' magazine in her image building was not
small. Almost every other cover featured her, with a
reverential little article inside about her charity
performances. Kalki, in fact played a big role in
projecting M.S. as a saintly musician.
In those
days most concert vocalists acted in films. It was
not surprising that M.S., with her lovely voice and
charming personality, joined films. 'Sevasadanam',
her first movie was released in 1938 where she acted
as a poor young girl who married a rich old man.
This was followed by 'Sakunthalai' where M.S. played
the lead role, the most glamorous of all her roles
teaming up with G.N.Balasubramanian, the most
attractive vidwan of the time. The film contained
some of the most haunting of all her movie melodies
- 'Endan Idathu Tholum', 'Premayil', 'Engum Nirai
Nadha Brahmam'. This was followed by 'Savithri'
(directed by Y.V. Rao) which was released in 1942.
M.S. played as Naradha with the North Indian star
Santha Apte in Savithri. This film too did extremely
well at the box office. The income from this movie
was largely used to start the 'Kalki' magazine. This
was the time when M.S.'s persona as a star was
established, that of a quite type of a glamour
queen. She dressed slightly more flamboyantly,
sported some make-up and was naturally gossiped in
the press. She was also imitated widely. This image
remained intact until the release of 'Meera' in
1945. When 'Baktha Meera' was released in both Tamil
and Hindi, it created a swelling wave of
appreciation that gave M.S. an all India status as a
musician. It also marked the end of her film career.
It is said that Rajaji himself advised the couple
against any more involvement in the films. Perhaps
Sadasivam saw a greater benefit in preserving the
somewhat saintly image that M.S. had acquired after
the film. Whatever, M.S. gave up films once and for
all and turned wholly to concert music.
M.S.
become an accepted and integral part of the Madras
elitist society. It became an honor to have her at a
wedding or a gathering. Always a trend setter, M.S.
became a kind of fashion apostle for the upper class
Madras wife. Her sarees, her diamonds, the
particular style in which she wore flowers in her
hair, all became trademarks. In the 50s, almost
every Madras housewife had at least one saree of the
M.S. blue shade. For most part, M.S. had adjusted
magnificiantly to her new life. Along with her
public VIP image, she developed an equally strong
private life image of the orthodox Hindu housewife whose
husband's word was her command.
Laurels
and honors came looking for MS. She was among the
earliest to receive the Padma Bhushan in 1954,
before many other stalwarts. She had the honor of
singing at the United Nations Day celebrations in
October 1966. In 1968, she was the first woman to be
honored with the title of Sangita Kalanidhi by the
Madras Music Academy. She was elected a Fellow of
the Sangeet Natak Academy in 1974. MS has also been
awarded honorary Doctorates from the Rabindra
Bharati University, Sri Venkateswara University and
Delhi University. The Ramon Magsaysay Award (1974),
the Padma Vibhushan (1975) and the Bharat Ratna
(2000) - India's highest national civilian honor -
have been notable achievements in her lifetime.
MS
always maintained a very low profile, content to let
her husband do the talking for her. Hers has also
been a life of sacrifice: she brought up Sadasivam's
children as hers and did not have any of her own.
But she has always come across as the committed
mother and wife, happy and contented, and has seldom
been involved in any controversies. She has carried
fame very naturally on her dignified shoulders. A
smiling figure dressed traditionally in silk
Kanjeevarams, with diamond studs glittering in her
ears and on her nose, she is the epitome of charm
and feminine grace.
She sang
in a perfectly controlled, melodious "B Flat" voice
and strictly adhered to the traditional Carnatic
style of the old masters without any variations and
believed in following and preserving their rich
heritage.
Mangalampalli Balamuralikrishna was born on July
6, 1930 at Sankaraguptam, a small hamlet in Rajolu
Taluk, East Godavari District in Andhra Pradesh, to
Mangalampalli Pattabhiramayya and Suryakanthamma.
His father, Pattabhiramayya was a famous flutist and
a music teacher and Suryakanthama was a notable
Veena artiste. His guru was the famous Parupalli
Ramakrishnayya Pantulu. In the order of Guru
Parampara, Balamurali Krishna is fifth in the line
of direct disciples of the great Saint Tyagaraja.
In 1938,
at the age of eight, he gave his first full-fledged
performance. Not merely content with his name and
fame as a concert vocalist, very soon he proved his
immense versatility by playing the kanjira, mrdangam,
viola and violin and the public flocked to hear his
concerts. When he was barely 14 years old, he
composed Raganga-Ravali, a detailed work on the
72-Melakarta (basic scales of music) scheme. By 16
he became a a Doctorate in music. He has served as
music Producer at Vijayawada, Hyderabad and the
Madras All India Radio Stations. In this capacity,
he pioneered the early hour devotional renderings in
India under the title 'Bhakthi Ranjani'. He also
acted as the first Principal of the Government Music
College at Vijayawada.
He has
created new raga-s like mahati, sumukham, trisakthi,
sarvashri, omkari, janasamodini, manorama, rohini,
vallabhi, lavangi, sushama, pratimadhyamavathi,
etc. He has given more than 20,000 performances
throughout the world and has created a world record
by releasing over 250 audio cassettes brought out by
the Sangeetha Recording Company.
He has
bagged many titles and awards. The 'Gana Sudhakara',
'Gayaka Sikhamani', 'Sur Singar', 'Geeta Kala
Bharati', Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 'Sangeetha
Kalanidhi', Padmashri and the coveted Padma Vibushan
are some of them. He was conferred the title of
Sangeetha Kalanidhi in the year 1978. He was chosen
as the 'Wisdom Man of the Year in 1992'. He was also
conferred the PhD, DSc and DLitt by the Andhra
University, Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University, Sri Venkateswara University and the
University of Hyderabad respectively. The Chief
Minister of Andhra Pradesh honoured him with the 'Atma
Gauravam' award in 1997. The Governor of Maharashtra
honoured him for services rendered for the cause of
National Integration. He is an Honarary First
citizen of Vijayawada and has a road named after him
in that city. He is a state musician of the states
of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh and is the Asthana
Vidwan of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam, Sringeri
Peetam and Anjenaya Swami Temple, Nanganallur. He
founded "Academy of Performing Arts and Research" in
Switzerland and is also working on music therapy. He
established the 'MBK Trust' with the objective of
developing art and culture and for carrying out
extensive research into Music Therapy. A dance and
music school, 'Vipanchee' is a part of this Trust.
His
greatest asset is his wonderfully vibrant, widely
ranging, magnetic voice over which he has perfect
control in all three octaves. He sings with a sense
of infectious happiness with which he captivates his
audience from the very first note. Balamurali
Krishna mesmerises his audiences with his crystal
clear enunciation of lyrics, the buoyant, cherubic
and ever fresh quality of his music, his sparkling
creativity and with the impressive ease with which
he sings.
The
great Swami Paramahamsa Chinmayananda said, "When
music flows from Balamuralikrishna, you can realise
what the crazy gopi's felt in their ecstasy of
Divine Love. To be born with music in his heart, to
hold a recital at a tender age of only eight-deepavalis,
to be at once a master in many instruments, apart
from his unfailing purity of voice, tala and raga;
these are indeed preciously rare in one single
person unless he is a genius."
Till the
coming of Bamuralikrishna, the Carnatic music was
dominated by the orthodox tradition bound Tamil
musicians, who religiously stuck to what the old
masters have composed. But this versatile genius not
only grasped and churned the musical essence of the
old masters but enriched it with his own superb
variations. His rich voice swung from the highest
octave to the lowest and aptly expressed the inner
feelings and the deeper subtle meanings and emotions
of the verses. His smiling face radiated the sheer
joy of singing and his emotion charged performances
captivated the audience. This paved the way for
other musicians to come out with and display their
artistic talent, instead of mere repetition of the
old masters. Some of his famous recitals like
"Pibare Ramarasam", "Sarigamapadani Paadeda", "Sada
Tava Pada sannidhim kuru", "Eeteeruga nanu daya
choochedavoo" are truly outstanding out of the world
performances and leave an ever lasting impression on
the listener.
MP3
Collection coming soon.
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