Ripples on the brain

I read MS’ biography by TJS George a month ago. I should admit I was shocked when I finished the book. I never knew that MS Subbulakshmi faced so many personal turmoils in her life. Her life story probably had more twists, turns, highs and lows than any character even in films could have had. Yet I think her personality, that reflected in her music, remained the same and that earned her all the adulation she received throughout her life.

I think George has made a very sincere attempt to capture MS’ life without making it a book of flattery, which is a very difficult task considering the universal appeal she has got. He keeps the biography very interesting by lending space even to the minutest of the rumours that existed about her and Sadasivam. The magnitude of MS’ success could never be explained without setting the context in which the success was achieved and George clearly excels is presenting this context to his readers. MS’ life could never have been described in isolation.

At the end of book, I was surprised, awed, shocked, confused, angry all at the sametime. My reactions about MS was mixed. I ended up questioning, in my mind, a lot of actions of MS. Nobody will know the answers to those questions. Infact, it might not be even right to question them at this point - I can never probably comprehend the situation under which she lived…

I present below a couple of passages from the biography that I thoroughly enjoyed reading:

About the Carnatic Music “industry” in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century:

Madras developed into a hub of authority. By the end of the nineteenth century, it was not enough for a musician to be established in Thanjavur or Madurai or Mysore or Tirupati. For true recognition, he or she had to go to Madras and be acknowledged there. After the Madras Music Academy was established in 1928 by leading residents of Mylapore, the Brahmin citadel of Madras, Carnatic music acquired an instant ‘Vatican Council’…Actually the animating spirit was not just Tamil but Tamil Brahmin in character. Mylapore was the civilizational pivot of Tamil Brahminism and the pillars of this area perceived it as entirely natural that they should be the providers to, and accessors of, all Carnatic culture…Mylapore tended to project Tamil and Tamil Brahmins as having a natural superiority over others. A situation rapidly developed where non-Tamil musicians had problems getting the all-important nod of approval from the Mylapore establishment.

About MS’ Suprabhathams:

MS broke all taboos and all conventions with regard to Suprabhathams. Her renderings were in the traditional mode, more recitational than musical…People found that packaged convenience did not detract any of the sanctity from the recitation…She[MS] became a member of every worshipping family every morning.

I had many other favourites from the book, but I failed to bookmark them and cannot recollect now.