The 'nightingale' of Carnatic music, MS Subbulakshmi fondly called as MS, passed away on December 11, 2004. She started her career by singing in temples and eventually became one of the best known artistes. She enthralled audiences all over the world.
Born on September 16, 1916, she made her singing debut at the age of 8 in Madurai. She learnt to play the from her mother and sang in the temples of Madurai. Later, she went on to give concerts at Chennai, capturing what was till then a male bastion. 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 spellbound.
MS immortalised many songs, including Vaishnava Janatho, Gandhi's bhajan, Meera bhajans, Annamacharya kirtans and the like.
Even in her seventies, she learnt new songs and recorded them. "Music is an ocean and I am a student", she once wrote in a magazine, when she was 73.
She is equally remembered for her foray into films. Cast as Meera, MS became the incarnation of the people's vision of this saint-poet.
A loss not just irreplacable, but also one that fill take a long time to get over.
- Yojana Sharma