Posted:
Would love to Chocolate. This is a favourite topic..so excuse the length.
She was born in a Devadasi family and her father was a Brahmin. Her mother was not the wife of her father, but her mother was a genius in music as most Devadasis of that period were. She grew up in a musical environment and her genius shined through. She learnt singing from the then great carnatic legends and moved to Chennai at the age of 20 to pursue Carnatic singing as a career which was considered a very male dominant field. Women were encouraged to sing only in their own homes.
She took up acting because then singers could only be actors. This was 1936. Her Meera and Shakuntala became great hits.
Listen to this Bhajan from Meera. The movie was the greatest hit at those times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qD9EwvYEI
She fell in love with GNB another renowned singer who acted with her in Shakuntala. He was smitten by her, but refused to allow her to do professional singing in a big scale. She left him and married the widower Sadasivam, 13 years her senior who was the editor of the famous Kalki magazine and a father of 3 and a very famous freedom fighter.
There is no way anyone can spot a more devoted wife than her. She did not have any kids because she gave so much love to his kids and she didnt want anything to disturb that. Her marriage was the best thing which happenned to her professionally and personally. Her image changed from a Devadasi lady to a married brahmin lady. Sadasivam mama used all his acumen to make her sucessful. She followed him blindly and she went on to sing in UN and win accolades there.
It is said that without Sadasivam mama she would have not reached the heights she has reached now. He was the brain behind her sucess. There is something called "Manodharma" in carnatic music. Depending on the ragas they choose, the singers should spontaneously sing swaras and enrich the ragas on the spot in the sabha. Only men were considered to have that knowledge. MS Amma was one of the three women who broke this myth and performed RTP's in Sabhas.
Sadasivam mama used to judge the crowd and ask her to change songs in accordance to the crowd. He would make a small gesture from his seat, amma would catch it and change her song in a jiffy to cater to the crowd.
She was so devoted to him and so much in love with him. I visited her when Mama was 90 and she was 76. She was talking to us and suddenly she would rush in, get coffee and give to her husband at the right time and then come back to us. That love and devotion was so so pure. She stopped public singing after his death.
Her suprabatham, Sahasranamam are still played in all temples including Thirupathi every day. The main essence of her music was Bhakti bhava. She was in awe of god and her devotion shined in her songs.
She got awarded all the major awards in India. Pandit Nehru called her the queen of music. She got the Bharat ratna also and died at a ripe old age of 90 and yet her music keeps living on and on.
Current Affairs
Suggestions / Comments
Avatar and Signatures Shop
83