M. S. Subbulakshmi

M. S.

Subbulakshmi grew up in Madurai in a family of musicians. Her voice was so clear and sweet that people said even the birds stopped to listen.

She sang bhajans and Carnatic ragas that felt like prayers. In 1966 she sang at the United Nations in her simple Kanjeevaram silk sari, and the whole hall was still.

She was the very first musician to receive India's highest honour, the Bharat Ratna.

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was born in 1916 in Madurai, Tamil Nadu. She learnt Carnatic music from her mother, Shanmukhavadivu, a veena artiste, and later trained with masters of the tradition.

She gave her first public concert at eleven and became one of the greatest Carnatic vocalists of the twentieth century.

Her recordings of 'Vishnu Sahasranamam', 'Bhaja Govindam' and the 'Venkateshwara Suprabhatam' are heard every morning in millions of Indian homes. She acted in a handful of films, including the 1945 classic 'Meera'.

In 1966 she performed at the United Nations General Assembly, becoming the first Indian musician to do so. She received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 1974 and in 1998 became the first musician of any kind to be awarded the Bharat Ratna.

She donated much of her earnings to charity, quietly supporting temples, hospitals and schools.