Carrying forward the legacy of legendary MS Subbulakshmi

The ‘Nightingale of India’ MS Subbulakshmi (1916-2004), who was the first musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, had accomplished several firsts in the field ofmusic. She was the first Indian musician to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the first Indian to have performed at the United Nations General Assembly in 1966 — where she performed her rendition of the song Maithreem Bhajatha, invoking hope and peace among nations. The songs she had performed continue to inspire countless musicians. Taking her legacy forward are her great granddaughters, S Aishwarya and S Saundarya, who are presenting both popular and less-heard renditions of Subbulakshmi’s to the world. The young sisters were invited to perform at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s residence in October 2017, where they revisited the composition, Maithreem Bhajatha.

Aishwarya, 24, and Saundarya, 14, were born into the family as the great granddaughters of Subbulakshmi and granddaughters of Carnatic vocalist and classical dancer Radha Viswanathan (1934-2018). They are the daughters of Radha Viswanathan’s son, Shrinivasan Viswanathan, and his wife Geetha. Growing up in a family of musicians has led both of them to pursue music, they say.

“Just 11 days after I was born, my great grandmother MS Subbulakshmi affectionately took me in her lap, kissed my forehead and sang the lullaby of Annamacharya, Tolliyunu Marraku. I get goose bumps even today when I watch the video that captures this. Being born into this family is indeed a major factor for my interest in music,” Aishwarya recollects in an interview with DT Next.

Saundarya recalls hearing her grandmother Radha and sister Aishwarya singing together since her childhood. “I did not have the good fortune of seeing my great grandmother. But, our home has always been full of good music,” she says.

The sibling duo has been performing together at concerts across the globe for the past three years. Asked if the musical lineage also brings pressure to their performances, Aishwarya says, “St age pressure can be triggered by a lack of preparedness rather than just belonging to a great musical lineage. Hence, concert preparation is very important. My father has always advised my sister and I to imbibe the musicality of our great grandmother and grandmother, but at the same time maintain our individuality. I look at it not as a pressure, but more as a responsibility.” Besides having a line of reputed gurus, the sisters were also trained by Radha, who performed with Subbulakshmi often.

The siblings are keen to bring to light those songs of Subbulakshmi, which were presented very few times on stage. “For example, the tillana in Shankarabharanam by Poochi Srinivasa Iyengar, or Kumara Ettendra in Todi Gajavadana, are some of the songs she never sang on stage, which we intend to present in future. The MSS repertoire is a very huge one. But her legacy is not just about the repertoire, it is also her uncompromising fidelity to sruthi, sparkling presentation of ragas, and her polish of each presentation. These are benchmarks for future generations,” they assert.

Music can be an indicator of the times one’s living in, they say. “An analysis of MSS music over eight decades will throw up many interesting perspectives on her journey as a musician. Her Sankarabharanam of the 1940s is so different from her Sankarabharanam in the 1990s — though both presentations will still cast a spell of magic on the listener,” Aishwarya remarks.

The young musicians point out that there is a huge number of youngsters taking to Carnatic music in the current day. “The number of concert goers, however, is very limited. We need to ensure that the rasika base grows in the future. Making classical music compulsory in schools, at least up to standard 8, may help in this direction,” notes Aishwarya.