The Hindu : Opinion / Letters to the Editor : Bhakti personified

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Dec 14, 2004

Opinion

Opinion - Letters to the Editor

Bhakti personified

Sir, — M.S. Subbulakshmi's enduring contribution was the infusion of bhakti and soul into Carnatic music. Once M.S. rendered a song, reproductions were meaningless. She set an example on how to handle fame and money. She shunned them, and left her voice and charitable work as her enduring legacy.

Rameysh Ramdas,
San Jose, California

* * *

Sir, — The passing away of M.S. has created a void in the field of Carnatic music. She was the epitome of bhakti — on a par with Purandaradasa and Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

D. Manikyala Rao,
Gudivada, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — The Viveka Choodamani of Adi Sankara defines a guru as one who leads his followers to salvation (moksha). In that sense, M.S. was a guru to all of us because through her music, she led us through the bhakthi marga to moksha. Not for her the cycle of Punarapi jananam, punarapi maranam (unceasing birth and death cycles).

Priya Ramachandran,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — M.S. ruled the field of music for seven decades. She won many a heart with her excellent voice. Her music symbolised tapas.

M.N. Niranjan,
Tirupati, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — M.S.' voice was divinity personified. Though she was an exponent of Carnatic music, she enthralled everyone alike. She sang not for money but to express her divine faith. Present day musicians have lost a banyan tree under which they lived and thrived.

S. Mukundan,
Mumbai

* * *

Sir, — Her voice reverberates in the flowing waters of the Ganga and echoes in the mountains of Thirumala. M.S. is immortal.

R. Gowri,
Kangayam, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — M.S. was one of those rare quintessentially self-actualised human beings who constantly explored her art. Her various noble personal attributes have been widely praised. But for a person like M.S., it required no effort to display such attributes because they simply could not be otherwise.

N.S. Sankararaman,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — The lyrics of the song Kaatrinile Varum Geetham from film Meera aptly describe the divine quality of M.S.' music. It caused faded trees to bloom; cast a magic spell on wild animals; it made heavenly bodies pause in their orbital journey; and it filled the heart with ecstasy, leading one gently towards oblivion.

G. Gururaj,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — M.S. was a saint-singer. She lived among us as a sacred soul chosen for the mission of transforming the devotional and metaphysical into the very living air of our homes through songs of immaculate divinity.

A.V. Ashok,
Atlanta, Georgia

* * *

Sir, — A rare gem of the `purest ray serene,' M.S. never aspired for fame or money. Her life was a saga of total surrender to god and selfless service to humanity.

S.R. Gopalaswamy,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — I once read that `the death of a saint is not reason to despair, but to rejoice.'

Let us rejoice that the one who transported us into divine realms will now enthral the Lord Himself.

G. Harish,
Hyderabad

* * *

Sir, — If anyone has not been moved by M.S.' voice, what Shakespeare said would become relevant: "The man that hath no music in himself, Nor is not mov'd with concord of sweet sounds, Is fit for treasons, stratagems, and spoils; The motions of his spirit are dull as night, And his affections dark as Erebus: Let no such man be trusted." (The Merchant of Venice)

K.L. Sampath,
Chennai

* * *

Sir, — M.S. widened the dimension of Carnatic music. Her concert at the U.N. is evergreen in my memory. How many can donate all prize money to charity?

Lt. Col. (retd.) R.V.S. Mani,
Madurai, T.N.

* * *

Sir, — Many Indian homes wake up every morning to the sweet strains of `Kausalya Supraja Rama' and Vishnu Sahasranamam rendered in matchless melody and devotion by M.S. The voice that woke up a billion has merged with the celestial sound that keeps the universe in equilibrium, the cosmic music that sails from "harmony to harmony," in the words of John Dryden — Song for Saint Cecilia's Day.

R.C. Rajamani,
New Delhi

* * *

Sir, — M.S.' resonating Venkatesa Suprabhatam has become as much a symbol of daybreak as sunrise and the chirping of the birds. In the death of M.S., Bharat has lost a true Ratna.

B.V. Kumar,
Nellore, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — Millions of people drew comfort from M.S.' bhajans when they were in distress. What an irony that in this hour of distress too, one draws solace and comfort from her own bhajans!

Bh. Subrahmanyam,
Vizianagaram, A.P.

* * *

Sir, — Beethoven said: "music should strike fire from the heart of man and bring tears from the eye of woman." M.S. has achieved this rare feat.

K. Gopakumar Menon,
Thrissur, Kerala

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