MADURAI SHANMUKHAVADIVU Biography - Famous Poets and dancers

 
 

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MADURAI SHANMUKHAVADIVU
       

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu (M.S) Subbalakshmi, the great Carnatic singer was born in  Madurai, Tamil Nadu on September  16, 1916 to noted Veena player Shanmukhavadivu and lawyer Subramania Iyer. Hailed as the nightingale of Carnatic music this genius of a singer is a living legend.

       

Young Kunchamma as she was called and her siblings was brought up in a musical environment in her home close to the Madurai Meenakshi Temple. Her grand mother Akkammal was a violinist. Her mother used to play and rehearse constantly and Kunchamma used to listen and hum ragas along with the Veena and the Nadaswaram recitals frequently heard from the temple. Her first Guru was Madurai Srinivasa Iyengar but her lessons could not last long as her guru passed away soon after she finished her foundations. But she kept practicing on her own for long hours. She did her formal schooling only till class 5th and music became the world for her. Subbalakshmi’s perfect pitch whether high or low and fantastic range of voice is the result of her dedication, toil and hours of continuous practice. As a child, when she practiced she would stop playing the tambura in between to check whether she is maintaining the pitch with and without it. She also learned Hindustani music from Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas for a short while. In the 1930’s she learned ‘khayals’ and ‘thumris’ from Dwijenderlal Roy in Calcutta and later from Siddheshwari Devi of Benares and bhajans and Rabindra Sangeet from Dilipkumar Roy, she incorporates bhajans in almost all her concerts.