Yamanoor Srihari
2004-02-15 19:35:02 UTC
Tyagaraja Sadasivam entered M S Subbulakshmis life in June 1936. He was then almost 34 and she was almost 20. Four tumultuous years followed years marked by strife, recriminations, bitter quarrels between Madras and Madurai, scandals, police cases and tensions of all kinds. Then they got married in 1940 and lived happily ever after for 57 eventful years until Sadasivams death in 1997 at the age of 95. Never did a couple fill each others life as completely as Sadasivam and MS did. Never did another husband visualise, orchestrate and control his wifes career as decisively as Sadasivam did. Never did a man transform a womans life as totally as Sadasivam transformed MSs. Without Sadasivam, MS might just have been a face in the crowd, a great voice among several great voices. With him, she became the queen of music, a title bestowed upon her by Jawaharlal Nehru. If MS made melody, S
adasivam made MS. If music was MSs career, MS became Sadasivams career. Never did a husband and
wife owe more to each other than Sadasivam and MS did.
Never, for that matter, were two people more different from each other. Sadasivam was activity personified. MS was passivity incarnate. Sadasivam was all about domination and being in charge. MS was all about submission and being taken care of. Sadasivam was a man of the world, alive to all its stratagems, challenges and opportunities. MS was a babe in the woods, unable even to see the shadows around her. Sadasivam knew precisely what he wanted and precisely how to get it. MS knew nothing about anything beyond her music and its concomitant offshoots and derivates. Sadasivam was always seeking. MS was always content. Sadasivam possessed a powerful will and always managed to bend others to that will. MS rarely revealed a will of her own and always seemed to enjoy bending. Sadasivams temper could go wild. MS was never known to lose hers. Sadasivam was all command. MS was all obedience. Thi
s was a couple whose uncanny complementarity proved yet again how opposite poles attracted.
According to some sources, and confirmed by subsequent developments, Sadasivam fell for Subbulakshmi at their very first meeting. He could hardly be blamed. At 20, MS had flowered into a beautiful young lady. The fullness of her youth was accentuated by her luminous eyes and her lustrous hair. She had a presence overriding her obvious simplicity. Indeed, her beauty was enhanced by the air of innocence that surrounded her like a protective halo. Sadasivam was a commanding presence himself. He was tall and broad-shouldered and extraordinarily handsome in his prime. He too had certain qualities that enhanced his personality, for example, the air of self-assurance he exuded. He believed and made others believe that there was nothing he could not do or get done. Perhaps Subbulakshmi instinctively felt the need for an older and experienced man on whom she could depend. Perhaps Sadasivams inst
incts to take charge of things were activated by the sight of so tender a bud so evidently in need
of a guiding hand.
It was not as if either of them sat down and analysed their mutual needs and instincts. At first sight, the scenario could only have depicted a handsome man and a beautiful girl paying attention to each other. But clearly something clicked somewhere and the advertisement manager did not stop with one interview with the singer he was planning to feature in his magazine. A few more meetings took place for working out the finer points of the Vikatans special feature. The interviews were completed and the feature was published, but the meetings continued. Sadasivam soon became a daily visitor, spending time with her on one pretext or another. He would run errands for her, organise her programmes, arrange things for her, give her his opinion on men and matters and generally play man Friday. Clearly, he had become a diligent suitor.
She started work on her first film in 1936 and continued to be involved with cinema for almost a decade. The first two films, Sevasadanam and Shakuntalai, would constitute one phase in which she would remain essentially a classical singer and have Sadasivam directing her from the sidelines. After the completion of Shakuntalai, she would get married to Sadasivam and settle down to a life pattern whose radical import she herself perhaps did not appreciate. She would act in two more films, Savithri and Meera, and then in a reshot not dubbed Hindi Meera, making up the second phase of her cinematic career. This phase was different from the earlier one, because now Sadasivam was in the centre of all activities, officially, formally and categorically, calculating every move to achieve the goals he had precisely chalked out in his mind. With four films completed (five if the Hindi Meera was
also counted), MS would bid goodbye to cinema because Sadasivam so decided. She would devote the
rest of her life to becoming a singer-saint because Sadasivam so decided. In the process, she would also develop a new persona, shedding all traces of Shanmugavadivus heritage. That too was decreed and arranged by Sadasivam.
The first phase was difficult both for MS, because she was feeling her way around in unfamiliar territory, and for Sadasivam, because he was not in full command. MS was also hemmed in by the unaccustomed pressures of film work from one side and, from the other, the persistent efforts of the Madurai group to disrupt her life. Guarded attentively by Sadasivam and Subramanyam, she proceeded with the shooting. Emoting before the cameras turned out to be more vexatious than she had imagined. Her natural form of expression was music; any other made her uncomfortable. Nothing in her life so far had prepared her for acting. There were no actors within her circle of close acquaintances. S D Subbulakshmi, her mothers friend from Madurai, was the only film celebrity she knew. S D turned out to be a source of strength and encouragement. Many years later she would reminisce that it took MS a great
deal of time and a lot of coaching from me and K Subramanyam to learn the rudiments of acting. MS
was never at ease while acting, pointed out S D. She would worry about everything from having to wear make-up to whether she had delivered her lines correctly. She needed constant support to bolster her confidence.
Subbulakshmis marriage to Sadasivam was a fulfilment for her and a challenge to him. My ambition, MS once confided, was to get married and bring up children. Here was her opportunity to move towards that goal. For Sadasivam, however, the situation was vastly different. At 38, he was already entering middle age and the fact stood out in comparison with his bride. At 24, MS appeared to be the very reason for Kalidasas question in his Abbijnana Shakuntalam: When the bright sun blazes bright, can darkness show its face? Old men marrying young girls was common in those days, but it was a practice that invited social opprobrium as Sevasadanam had demonstrated, tear-jerkingly. Sadasivam was definitely not as old as the man in Sevasadanam. Nevertheless, the possibility of malicious comparisons between the role MS portrayed on the screen and her real life was daunting.
The caste divide was another potential invitation for disparagement. Well-to-do Brahmin men establishing a chinna veedu, literally small house, with a devadasi wife was an accepted practice. But, in this case, the Brahmin actually married the girl, thereby raising embarrassing questions about his earlier Brahmin wife. In the business circles in which Sadasivam moved he could already hear the criticism. The religious and political leaders whose patronage Sadasivam valued were reproachful too. Only C Rajagopalachari and a handful of his friends extended timely support. Now Sadasivam had to figure out how he could use this support to blunt the edge of criticism. In the end, he succeeded remarkably, helped as much by the grace of MSs personality as by efforts of his own.
Ironically, the greatest international music coup scored by Sadasivam also turned out to be aesthetically the sorriest spectacle. The UN concert in 1966 was unique in many ways, and MS would have excelled herself if she had been left to her musical self. But perhaps the sheer grandeur of the occasion proved too exciting to Sadasivam and his associates. With a view to gilding the lily, they went to town with the idea of MS singing an English hymn at the UN. According to Sadasivam, the idea originated from General K M Cariappa. The good soldier must have meant well, but Sadasivam should have considered the practical problems and politely sidelined the idea. Instead, he became overenthusiastic. He sought Rajajis approval as usual, and Rajaji approved. In fact, Rajaji himself composed the hymn. The lyrics were set to music by Handel Manuel, the best known star of Western music in Madras. He
also tutored MS on how to sing the hymn. But even Manuels professional touch could do little to
ease the discomfort MS felt with singing in English. The curiosity value of the event persuaded the Indian press to give generous column space to it, but the aftershocks in the UNs corridors were something else. As a report in Mylapores own Sruti magazine (October 1986) put it, it was sad to see MS and Radha stand up and recite the Rajaji hymn like school girls. The report quoted an unnamed New York rasika as saying many Indians hung their heads in shame at what Indias Queen of Song had been put up to do.
The UN disappointment notwithstanding, the rest of the US tour was a great success. An ostensible purpose was to raise funds for Hindu temples in New York and Pittsburgh. When a record crowd gathered at the Colgate University (Hamilton, New York) for MSs first concert in the US, Sadasivam turned visibly sentimental before a group of helpers, associates and colleagues. Shaking with emotion, he told them: This is something I have been dreaming for long, putting her on the world stage. My biggest ambition is fulfilled.
He could draw satisfaction also from the uncanny effect MS had on ordinary Americans. At the time of the UN concert, the couple stayed at the apartment of an executive of the Esso oil company, another Mylapore networker. After lunch one day MS began singing for the small gathering of friends who had assembled in the apartment. To their dismay, repair works in the adjoining apartment provided a steady accompaniment of unmusical sounds such as hammer knocks and metal sawing. The apartment owner was embarrassed but said he was helpless. MS alone seemed unconcerned and went on singing. A few minutes later, the repair noises suddenly ceased and two helmeted American handy men appeared at the apartment door. Cant understand the thing, they said, but its very touching. May we listen? That was perhaps MSs finest hour in America.
All things considered, there was a touch of managerial brilliance in Sadasivams decision to withdraw MS from cinema despite the adverse financial implications of such a step and to put her on the path of Meera-like bhakti music. At the age of 29, without the distractions of cinema, MS could look forward to a lifetime of purposeful music. The right decision at the right time allowed MS to reclaim her natural terrain. Her post-Meera persona was secured against any possibility of impairment. Quite simply, such a persona positioned her to become, on the basis of her charity tours and the steady underpinning of bhakti music, a recipient of reverence. Bhakti was the main plank that supported MSs life in music.
Extracts published from MS: A Life in Music by TJS George, with the permission of HarperCollins India
http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEH20040213054027&eTitle=Cover+Story&rLink=0&&headline=The~man~behind~MS~Subbulakshmi
La vie..
http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor
http://yamanoor.tblog.com
---------------------------------
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adasivam made MS. If music was MSs career, MS became Sadasivams career. Never did a husband and
wife owe more to each other than Sadasivam and MS did.
Never, for that matter, were two people more different from each other. Sadasivam was activity personified. MS was passivity incarnate. Sadasivam was all about domination and being in charge. MS was all about submission and being taken care of. Sadasivam was a man of the world, alive to all its stratagems, challenges and opportunities. MS was a babe in the woods, unable even to see the shadows around her. Sadasivam knew precisely what he wanted and precisely how to get it. MS knew nothing about anything beyond her music and its concomitant offshoots and derivates. Sadasivam was always seeking. MS was always content. Sadasivam possessed a powerful will and always managed to bend others to that will. MS rarely revealed a will of her own and always seemed to enjoy bending. Sadasivams temper could go wild. MS was never known to lose hers. Sadasivam was all command. MS was all obedience. Thi
s was a couple whose uncanny complementarity proved yet again how opposite poles attracted.
According to some sources, and confirmed by subsequent developments, Sadasivam fell for Subbulakshmi at their very first meeting. He could hardly be blamed. At 20, MS had flowered into a beautiful young lady. The fullness of her youth was accentuated by her luminous eyes and her lustrous hair. She had a presence overriding her obvious simplicity. Indeed, her beauty was enhanced by the air of innocence that surrounded her like a protective halo. Sadasivam was a commanding presence himself. He was tall and broad-shouldered and extraordinarily handsome in his prime. He too had certain qualities that enhanced his personality, for example, the air of self-assurance he exuded. He believed and made others believe that there was nothing he could not do or get done. Perhaps Subbulakshmi instinctively felt the need for an older and experienced man on whom she could depend. Perhaps Sadasivams inst
incts to take charge of things were activated by the sight of so tender a bud so evidently in need
of a guiding hand.
It was not as if either of them sat down and analysed their mutual needs and instincts. At first sight, the scenario could only have depicted a handsome man and a beautiful girl paying attention to each other. But clearly something clicked somewhere and the advertisement manager did not stop with one interview with the singer he was planning to feature in his magazine. A few more meetings took place for working out the finer points of the Vikatans special feature. The interviews were completed and the feature was published, but the meetings continued. Sadasivam soon became a daily visitor, spending time with her on one pretext or another. He would run errands for her, organise her programmes, arrange things for her, give her his opinion on men and matters and generally play man Friday. Clearly, he had become a diligent suitor.
She started work on her first film in 1936 and continued to be involved with cinema for almost a decade. The first two films, Sevasadanam and Shakuntalai, would constitute one phase in which she would remain essentially a classical singer and have Sadasivam directing her from the sidelines. After the completion of Shakuntalai, she would get married to Sadasivam and settle down to a life pattern whose radical import she herself perhaps did not appreciate. She would act in two more films, Savithri and Meera, and then in a reshot not dubbed Hindi Meera, making up the second phase of her cinematic career. This phase was different from the earlier one, because now Sadasivam was in the centre of all activities, officially, formally and categorically, calculating every move to achieve the goals he had precisely chalked out in his mind. With four films completed (five if the Hindi Meera was
also counted), MS would bid goodbye to cinema because Sadasivam so decided. She would devote the
rest of her life to becoming a singer-saint because Sadasivam so decided. In the process, she would also develop a new persona, shedding all traces of Shanmugavadivus heritage. That too was decreed and arranged by Sadasivam.
The first phase was difficult both for MS, because she was feeling her way around in unfamiliar territory, and for Sadasivam, because he was not in full command. MS was also hemmed in by the unaccustomed pressures of film work from one side and, from the other, the persistent efforts of the Madurai group to disrupt her life. Guarded attentively by Sadasivam and Subramanyam, she proceeded with the shooting. Emoting before the cameras turned out to be more vexatious than she had imagined. Her natural form of expression was music; any other made her uncomfortable. Nothing in her life so far had prepared her for acting. There were no actors within her circle of close acquaintances. S D Subbulakshmi, her mothers friend from Madurai, was the only film celebrity she knew. S D turned out to be a source of strength and encouragement. Many years later she would reminisce that it took MS a great
deal of time and a lot of coaching from me and K Subramanyam to learn the rudiments of acting. MS
was never at ease while acting, pointed out S D. She would worry about everything from having to wear make-up to whether she had delivered her lines correctly. She needed constant support to bolster her confidence.
Subbulakshmis marriage to Sadasivam was a fulfilment for her and a challenge to him. My ambition, MS once confided, was to get married and bring up children. Here was her opportunity to move towards that goal. For Sadasivam, however, the situation was vastly different. At 38, he was already entering middle age and the fact stood out in comparison with his bride. At 24, MS appeared to be the very reason for Kalidasas question in his Abbijnana Shakuntalam: When the bright sun blazes bright, can darkness show its face? Old men marrying young girls was common in those days, but it was a practice that invited social opprobrium as Sevasadanam had demonstrated, tear-jerkingly. Sadasivam was definitely not as old as the man in Sevasadanam. Nevertheless, the possibility of malicious comparisons between the role MS portrayed on the screen and her real life was daunting.
The caste divide was another potential invitation for disparagement. Well-to-do Brahmin men establishing a chinna veedu, literally small house, with a devadasi wife was an accepted practice. But, in this case, the Brahmin actually married the girl, thereby raising embarrassing questions about his earlier Brahmin wife. In the business circles in which Sadasivam moved he could already hear the criticism. The religious and political leaders whose patronage Sadasivam valued were reproachful too. Only C Rajagopalachari and a handful of his friends extended timely support. Now Sadasivam had to figure out how he could use this support to blunt the edge of criticism. In the end, he succeeded remarkably, helped as much by the grace of MSs personality as by efforts of his own.
Ironically, the greatest international music coup scored by Sadasivam also turned out to be aesthetically the sorriest spectacle. The UN concert in 1966 was unique in many ways, and MS would have excelled herself if she had been left to her musical self. But perhaps the sheer grandeur of the occasion proved too exciting to Sadasivam and his associates. With a view to gilding the lily, they went to town with the idea of MS singing an English hymn at the UN. According to Sadasivam, the idea originated from General K M Cariappa. The good soldier must have meant well, but Sadasivam should have considered the practical problems and politely sidelined the idea. Instead, he became overenthusiastic. He sought Rajajis approval as usual, and Rajaji approved. In fact, Rajaji himself composed the hymn. The lyrics were set to music by Handel Manuel, the best known star of Western music in Madras. He
also tutored MS on how to sing the hymn. But even Manuels professional touch could do little to
ease the discomfort MS felt with singing in English. The curiosity value of the event persuaded the Indian press to give generous column space to it, but the aftershocks in the UNs corridors were something else. As a report in Mylapores own Sruti magazine (October 1986) put it, it was sad to see MS and Radha stand up and recite the Rajaji hymn like school girls. The report quoted an unnamed New York rasika as saying many Indians hung their heads in shame at what Indias Queen of Song had been put up to do.
The UN disappointment notwithstanding, the rest of the US tour was a great success. An ostensible purpose was to raise funds for Hindu temples in New York and Pittsburgh. When a record crowd gathered at the Colgate University (Hamilton, New York) for MSs first concert in the US, Sadasivam turned visibly sentimental before a group of helpers, associates and colleagues. Shaking with emotion, he told them: This is something I have been dreaming for long, putting her on the world stage. My biggest ambition is fulfilled.
He could draw satisfaction also from the uncanny effect MS had on ordinary Americans. At the time of the UN concert, the couple stayed at the apartment of an executive of the Esso oil company, another Mylapore networker. After lunch one day MS began singing for the small gathering of friends who had assembled in the apartment. To their dismay, repair works in the adjoining apartment provided a steady accompaniment of unmusical sounds such as hammer knocks and metal sawing. The apartment owner was embarrassed but said he was helpless. MS alone seemed unconcerned and went on singing. A few minutes later, the repair noises suddenly ceased and two helmeted American handy men appeared at the apartment door. Cant understand the thing, they said, but its very touching. May we listen? That was perhaps MSs finest hour in America.
All things considered, there was a touch of managerial brilliance in Sadasivams decision to withdraw MS from cinema despite the adverse financial implications of such a step and to put her on the path of Meera-like bhakti music. At the age of 29, without the distractions of cinema, MS could look forward to a lifetime of purposeful music. The right decision at the right time allowed MS to reclaim her natural terrain. Her post-Meera persona was secured against any possibility of impairment. Quite simply, such a persona positioned her to become, on the basis of her charity tours and the steady underpinning of bhakti music, a recipient of reverence. Bhakti was the main plank that supported MSs life in music.
Extracts published from MS: A Life in Music by TJS George, with the permission of HarperCollins India
http://www.newindpress.com/sunday/sundayitems.asp?id=SEH20040213054027&eTitle=Cover+Story&rLink=0&&headline=The~man~behind~MS~Subbulakshmi
La vie..
http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor
http://yamanoor.tblog.com
---------------------------------
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