Dedicated to late M.S.Subbulakshmi Amma

Today, 16th September is the Birth Anniversary of The Nightingale of Carnatic Music. Time wouldn't suffice for people to express what she means to us. This post was queued to be my 150th post but this occasion called for something special so here it goes.

Thanks to Archana hosting Love Beat @ (Enjoi pannelam everyday, namda city namba life) Radio City 107.8FM, for the information. Also got to know that the diva married the man she loved ;), now how many knew that?

Origin of Maithreem Bhajatha from VVS

This blog started off with a musical note and so did this year, me listening and having got blessings from Lalgudi Ji performing with his son & daughter (guess that is the last of the concert of his I'd get to attend :(). In fact it has been a musically sound year for me :). So after a long while here is a resurrection of my musically inclined posts.


VVS under the aegis of Paramacharya

Today (Jul 29) it was Kutchery by Violin Maestro Sri V.V.Subramaniam as part of the Anusham Chamber Concerts at a marriage hall within two minutes walking distance from home. This can happen in no other place on this planet but chennai - the world capital for Carnatic Music.


VVS in all his majesty

Upon request for an anecdote, Sri VVS choose to tell about his experience with Paramacharya and the origin of the this song. Most people would be aware that Paramacharya (more prevalently quoted as Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi) had composed this song. But here is the context in which it happened as Sri VVS narated it.

It was when MS Amma (that is how our late 'nightingale' voice was addressed by musicians and all) along with Sri VSS and kuzhuvinar were stationed at Kaalahasthi for their concert performance. Coincidentally Maha-Periyeva was there one his tour and happened to listen to it as he went around the place in circles. After fulfilling the sages request for a piece in shankaraabharaNam, they were called upon into a small cave like place. The acharya addressed to MS Amma the following message - "You will be performing at the UN which is a world organization for peace. I shall give you the saahityam (verses) for a song I would like you to sing there". And the great sage had sung this song for this group for them to write it down and render it to the world. This is the greatest blessing any person could get in life. I wonder how it must have felt :-?, like god himself making his request probably :).

This is how the song was born whose title bears the meaning - "O World! Cultivate peace" (more on its meaning here).

You might be perplexed having read some of my previous post as to my reverence for paramacharya. To me he is the epitome of godliness in human form and a personal incident of our family as well. My folks are ardent devotees of the Kanchi Mutt and an annual visit or more was customary. Way before I was born my grandfather had our ancestral house at perumthottam. Our family had sold it and moved to the city when my grandfather got employed. On a later visit the reticent sage who rarely speaks out questioned my grandpa - "did you sell your house to in a moody tone?". Startled my grandpa explaind that it was not direct but eventually it had landed in his hands. And NO, this was not like the 60% match that happens when you go for some form of horoscope. He was spot on and he turned away to his business.

The reason for my reverence is for the purity and exemplarary example he set for millions of his followers. A highly knowledgeable person in scriptures and otherwise, he was known to be a voracious reader too. I have no clue as to why, but everytime I see his real life photo I keep staring at it oblivious to the world around me. No words to explain the feeling, no words to quantify the acharya. I would like to believe that he was god personified in this era.

Needless to say the concert was fantastic though short. Only three of those songs Sri. VVS rendered were ones I knew, though I couldn't recollect the names right away.