Title: Of Gifted Voice: The Life and Art of M.S Subbulakshmi
Author: Keshav Desiraju
Publisher: HarperCollins India
Genre: Biography
Format: Hardcover
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
'Who am I, a mere Prime Minister before a Queen, a Queen of Music' - Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru
Beautiful, Divine and unique are words that come to mind while diving into the Carnatic Legend M.S Subbulakshmi's musical world in Keshav Desiraju's latest work 'Of Gifted Voice'. The work minutely presents the unforgettable moments from her life and art through an equally fantastic writing and narration.
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi, popularly known in the south as M.S Amma and Kunjamma is widely regarded as the Queen of Carnatic Music. Her famous hymns 'Suprabhatam', 'Bhaja Govindam' and 'Hanuman Chalisha' can be heard in most south Indian temples and households. Legendary singer Lata Mangeskar once called her 'Tapaswini', while Bade Ghulam Ali Sahab called her 'Suswaralakshmi' (Goddess of Perfect Note). Truly, she was a great artist and throughout her life served the almighty with her magical voice. She achieved all this success at a time when women were viewed as inferior and weak. Infact, Like many other women of her time Subbulakshmi too had not formal education. Her mother was a Devadashi and the society used to identify her as a member of the devadasi tradition. It was truly her passion for art and the desire to worship the almighty through her art that helped her achieve the acme of success. She became the first indian singer to receive Bharat Ratna and the Ramon Magsaysay Award. She even acted in 5 films among which her role as Meera in the movie Meerabai was highly appreciated by many. Even her traditional style of wearing saree became so popular that the MS blue silk saree is still hughly popular among indian women.
Divided in 15 chapters, the work beautifully captures the important events of her life and career. It is a well-written and well-researched work. The way author has presented each and every point with authentic information. I also liked the author's attention to every little detail. The language is simple and the writing style and narration is absolutely fantastic. The work also contains some rare photographs and detailed notes, glossy, bibliography and further reading section for those who wants to study in much more detail.
Overall, it was an interesting read. I highly recommend this work and give it 4.5 stars.
Happy Reading
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