Kalyani may refer to:

• Kalyani (rāga), a rāga in the Carnatic music of South India as well as Hindustani music
• Kalyani (well), wells or reservoirs built as part of the temple complex in Hindu temples
• Kalyani, West Bengal, a town in the Nadia District of West Bengal
• Basavakalyan, a town formerly called Kalyani, in Karnataka state of India
• Western Chalukyas, an Indian dynasty, also known as Kalyani Chalukya
• Baba Kalyani (born 1949), an Indian businessman
• Galyani Vadhana, a princess of Thailand
• Kaveri (actress), a South Indian actress also known as Kalyani
• Kalyani (goddess), goddess Parvathi

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

M.S.Subbulakshmi
An EMI record of Subbulakshmi
Background information
Born	(1916-09-16)September 16, 1916 Madurai, Madras Presidency, India
Origin	India
Died	December 11, 2004(2004-12-11) (aged 88) Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
Genres	Indian classical music
Occupations	Classical Vocalist
Years active	1930–2004
Labels	HMV

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (Tamil: மதுரை சண்முகவடிவு சுப்புலட்சுமி, Madhurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi ^? 16 September 1916 – 11 December 2004), also known as M.S., was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honor.^[1] She is the first Indian musician to receive the Ramon Magsaysay award, Asia's highest civilian award, in 1974 with the citation reading "Exacting purists acknowledge Srimati M. S. Subbulakshmi as the leading exponent of classical and semi-classical songs in the Karnataka tradition of South India."^[2][3]

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Subbulakshmi (Kunjamma to her family) was born in Madurai, Madras Presidency, India to veena player Shanmukavadiver Ammal and Subramania Iyer. Her grandmother Akkammal was a violinist.

She started learning Carnatic music at an early age and trained in Carnatic music under the tutelage of Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer and subsequently in Hindustani music under Pandit Narayanrao Vyas. She also learned Sanskrit and Telugu under Dr. Nedunuri Krishnamurthy.

Her mother, from the devadasi community, was a music exponent and a regular stage performer, and Subbulakshmi grew up in an environment very conducive to musical learning. Her musical interests were also shaped by regular interactions with Karaikudi Sambasiva Iyer, Mazhavarayanendal Subbarama Bhavathar and Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar.^[4] Subbulakshmi gave her first public performance in 1929 when she was 13 years old at the prestigious Madras Music Academy. The performance consisted of singing bhajans (Hindu hymns).^[5] The academy was known for its discriminating selection process, and they broke tradition by inviting a young girl as a key performer. Her performance was described as spellbinding and earned her many admirers and the moniker of musical genius from critics. Soon after her debut performance Subbulakshmi became one the leading Carnatic vocalists.^[6][7]

Move to Madras[link]

In 1936 Subbulakshmi moved to Madras (now Chennai).^[7] She also made her film debut in Sevasadan in 1938,.^[8]

Musical style and performance[link]

M.S. Subbulakshmi (left) with S. Varalakshmi in Sevasadhanam (1938)

Singing career[link]

M.S. Subbulakshmi began her Carnatic classical music training under her mother Shanmugavadivu; and later in Hindustani classical training under Pandit Narayan Rao Vyas. Subbulakshmi first recording was released when she was 10 years old. She gave her first public performance, at the age of eleven, in the 100 pillar hall inside the Rockfort Temple, Tiruchirappalli; with Mysore Chowdiah on the violin and Dakshinamurthy Pillai on the mriganga. ^[9] By the age of 17, Subbulakshmi was giving concerts on her own, including major performances at the Madras Music Academy, a prestigious centre for the study and promotion of Carnatic music. Performance in Carnatic music concerts, was until then, a domain, traditionally reserved for men. She performed a vast variety of devotional musical forms in different languages including Tamil, Kannada, Sanskrit, Panjabi, Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali, Gujarati and Marathi.

When the governor of Madras wanted the famous spiritual leader, Mata Sri Anandamayi Ma, to reside in his residence, Anandamayi Ma replied, "I will stay in the house of Subbulakshmi. She is Meera to me." Within two days, Sadasivam had special quarters built in their garden for Mata to give darshan and arranged for a new well to be dug nearby for fresh drinking water. Every evening thousands of people gathered there.

She traveled to London, New York, Canada, the Far East, and other places as India's cultural ambassador. Her concerts at

• Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama in 1963
• Carnegie Hall, New York; the UN General Assembly on UN day in 1966
• Royal Albert Hall, London in 1982
• Festival of India in Moscow in 1987

were significant landmarks in her career.^[10] In 1969 she was accompanied by Indian Railways Advisor SN Venkata Rao to Rameshwaram, where she famously sang several songs in front of each idol in the Rameshwaram temple.

After the death of her husband Kalki Sadasivam in 1997, she stopped all her public performances.

Films[link]

M.S. also acted in a few Tamil films in her youth. Her first movie Sevasadanam was released in 1938. MS Subbulakshmi also played the male role of Narada in "Savitri" (1941) to raise money for launching Kalki, her husband's nationalist Tamil weekly. Her title role of the Rajasthani saint-poetess Meera in the eponymous 1945 film gave her national prominence. This movie was re-made in Hindi in 1947. The movie had M.S Subbulakshmi. sing the famous Meera bhajans, with Dilipkumar Roy as the music director. Later, she quit films and turned wholly to concert music.

Awards and honours[link]

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had this to say about M.S. Subbulakshmi- "Who am I, a mere Prime Minister before a Queen, a Queen of Music". While Lata Mangeshkar called her Tapaswini (the Renunciate), Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan termed her Suswaralakshmi (the goddess of the perfect note), and Kishori Amonkar labeled her the ultimate eighth note or Aathuvaan Sur, which is above the seven notes basic to all music. The great national leader and poet Sarojini Naidu called her "Nightingale of India". Her many famous renditions of bhajans include the chanting of Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu sahasranama (1000 names of Vishnu), Hari Tuma Haro and the Venkateswara Suprabhatam (musical hymns to awaken Lord Balaji early in the morning).

She was widely honored, praised and awarded. Some of the more popular ones include^[11]

• Padma Bhushan in 1954
• Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1956
• Sangeetha Kalanidhi in 1968 (literally, Treasure Chest of Music. She was the first woman recipient of the title)
• Ramon Magsaysay award (often considered Asia's Nobel Prize) in 1974
• Padma Vibhushan in 1975
• Kalidas Samman in 1988
• Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration in 1990
• Bharat Ratna in 1998.

She was honored as the court-singer[Asthana Vidhwan] of Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams.^[12] Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) has installed a bronze statue of M.S. Subbulakshmi at the Poornakumbham circle in the temple town. It was unveiled by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy on 28 May 2006.^[13]

The famous Kancheepuram Saree shade known as MS Blue was named after her^[14] by the well known Congress party member and philanthropist, Sri Muthu Chettiyar when they met at the residence of Sri R. Aiyadurai and Smt. Thangam Aiyadurai at Lady Desikachari Road, Madras, who were close friends of MS and Sadasivam.

She was bestowed with enormous prize moneys with these awards, she donated most of them to charity. She has given more than 200 charity concerts and raised well over Rs. 10,000,000. She was awarded honorary degree degrees from several Universities.

She was an ardent devotee of Kanchi Mahaswamigal and she rendered his composition Maithreem Bhajatha (O World! Cultivate peace) in her concert at the UN in 1966. Venkatesa Suprabhatam in Gramaphone record of HMV, the royalty from which goes to the Veda Patasala run by the Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam.^[15] She donated many of the royalties on several best sold records to many charity organizations.

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• M.S. Subbulaksmi, the Voice Divine (79 pages) by V. Gangadhar.
• MS - A Life in Music, T. J. S. George. 2004, HarperCollins. ISBN 978-81-7223-527-7
• Gowri Ramnarayan (Dec. 18–31, 2004), "Cover Story: The M.S. phenomenon", Frontline 21 (26), http://www.hinduonnet.com/fline/fl2126/stories/20041231006400900.htm 
• MS & Radha - Saga of Steadfast Devotion - by Gowri Ramnarayan - http://www.msstribute.org/

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: M. S. Subbulakshmi

• "Artists: M.S.Subbulakshmi, Nat Geo Music". National Geographic Society. http://worldmusic.nationalgeographic.com/worldmusic/view/page.basic/artist/content.artist/ms_subbulakshmi. 
• Biography at the official site of Ramon Magsaysay award
• M.S. Subbulakshmi at the Internet Movie Database
• Photo of MS, Sadhasivam and Ellis R. Dungan
• M.S. Subbulakshmi: Portraits of a diva - The Hindu

See also[link]

Indian classical music portal

v t e Bharat Ratna laureates Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (1954) C. Rajagopalachari (1954) C. V. Raman (1954) Bhagwan Das (1955) Mokshagundam Visvesvarayya (1955) Jawaharlal Nehru (1955) Govind Ballabh Pant (1957) Dhondo Keshav Karve (1958) Bidhan Chandra Roy (1961) Purushottam Das Tandon (1961) Dr. Rajendra Prasad (1962) Dr. Zakir Hussain (1963) Pandurang Vaman Kane (1963) Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966) Indira Gandhi (1971) V. V. Giri (1975) K. Kamaraj (1976) Mother Teresa (1980) Acharya Vinoba Bhave (1983) Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) M. G. Ramachandran (1988) B. R. Ambedkar (1990) Nelson Mandela (1990) Rajiv Gandhi (1991) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1991) Morarji Desai (1991) Abul Kalam Azad (1992) J. R. D. Tata (1992) Satyajit Ray (1992) A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1997) Gulzarilal Nanda (1997) Aruna Asaf Ali (1997) M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998) Chidambaram Subramaniam (1998) Jayaprakash Narayan (1998) Ravi Shankar (1999) Amartya Sen (1999) Gopinath Bordoloi (1999) Lata Mangeshkar (2001) Bismillah Khan (2001) Bhimsen Joshi (2008)

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2010)

Hemant Chauhan is a Gujarati writer and singer. He specializes in Bhajan, religious and Garba songs and other folk genres.^[1]

Selected works[link]

• Pankhida O Pankhida
• Om Namah Shivay-shiv Dhun
• Om Sai Mangalam mp3
• Shriman Narayana
• Laher Lagi Bhajan Ni.mp3
• dham Dham Nagara Re...
• Live In Leicester- Tu Rangai Jane Rang Ma
• chotile Dakla Vagya
• bhajan-krishna-devotional
• Shiv Tandav
• he Jagjanani He Jagdamba Hd Version
• Hemant Chauhan- Tare Rahevu Bhada Na Makan Ma...
• Shrinathaji and bhajan
• Pankhida Ne Aa Pinjaru

References[link]

External links[link]

• Interview of Hemant Chauhan by Devang Vibhakar on speakbindas
• Short Introduction of Hemant Chauhan on planetradiocity

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)

G. N. Balasubramaniam (Tamil: ஜி.என்.பாலசுப்பிரமணியம்) (6 Jan 1910 - 1 May 1965), popularly known as GNB, was a legendary vocalist in the Carnatic tradition. He became the first superstar of Carnatic music, innovating the art through emphasis on laya control & reducing the gamakas which eventually made Carnatic music appeal to the lay and the learned alike.^[1]

Early life and background[link]

Balasubramanian was born in Gudalur,a small village near Mayavaram in Tanjore, India. He was the son of G. V. Narayanaswamy Iyer, who was a keen student of music. Throughout his younger years, he observed with utmost attention the techniques of the musicians of his day. Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar became his manasika guru and inspiration. While his father dreamed of living in a villa at Luz Church road through GNB becoming a successful lawyer. The young musician in G.N.B made way for greater goals in life. He completed his B.A.(Hons) in English Literature at the prestigious Christian College, Chennai, and took up a short music course at Annamalai University. under the guidance of Sri T.S. Sabesa Iyer, but discontinued due to ill health. However, he joined the diploma course in music under Madras University in the first batch and Sri Tiger Varachari was the Principal . Within 2 years, he was ready for concert performances. With his debut in 1928, his climb to the dizzying heights of Carnatic music was almost meteoric.

Career[link]

Often criticized for producing extremely fast gamakam laden sangathis with strength and weight and with wide imagination, a voice as his, running at so fast a speed through the effects of Brighas, twists and turns would come in quick succession that he became an instant hit with both the lay audience as well as those initiated to the arts and science of carnatic music.

In the first half of the 20th century, nobody could sing ragas with an intellectual bend of mind like GNB, for he was the first concert musician to approach the concept of raga alapana in a step-by-step approach. His approach soon inspired the great masters of the day including his arch rival Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. Semmangudi, overwhelmed by GNB's overpowering musical genius, and the respect GNB had for Semmangudi's style was noteworthy. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer though engaged in "black politics" to bring down G.N.B fame, regretted in the last years of G. N. Balasubramaniam of the sins he committed against a great human being as G.N.B. Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer arranged a felicitation function by himself in 1964 to honour G.N.B. & primarily to make amends with the greatest legend Carnatic music has produced in the dawn of the performing era, that is G.N.B. As described in the autobiography of Sri G.N.B, "Ghandarva Ghanam", G.N.B. as moral & dignified as he was, did not insinuate any musician in his life neither did he allowed anyone to comment negatively on any musician in his presence. Apart from his phenomenal music, this alone earned him the praise from his embarrassed rivals & critics. He also raised the need to set a standard for critics to criticize a performing artiste.

Film offers flocked to GNB for his charismatic looks and musical talent. He acted in films, including Bhama Vijayam ( Sathi Anusuya),Sakunthala (Udayanan Vasavadatta (with Vasundhara Devi, mother of Vijayanthimala),and Rukmangada. In "Sakunthalai", he appeared as Dushyantha, alongside the vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi. M.S. Subbulakshmi was fascinated by his music and embraced his style completely in her early years as mentioned in the book M S - A Life in Music by TJS George. After a short stint in the film industry, GNB returned to the Carnatic music fraternity, due to the overwhelming demand for his performances till his passing in 1965.

Style[link]

As a critical musician with a revolutionary approach to Carnatic music, G.N.B made sure that many of his musical feats were technically and methodically feasible. With his charismatic speaking style & writing, he made his ideas clear and all opposition against his style faded quickly. With his charm, fame and yet humble personality, potential disciples flocked for his guidance in music.

He was also the first major Carnatic musician to moot the idea of Indian music as a single entity rather than separating it into Hindustani & Carnatic systems. He was very attentive in understanding why HIndustani music concerts is so well loved by south Indians. By emphasizing on the richness of the composition together with expansive improvisation passages, he forever changed the way, Carnatic music was sung. His grasp of tala was unprecedented for he understood the magic of singing in the 2nd & 3rd kala which had a mesmerizing effect on the audience that he performed. Sometimes, reaching the 4th kala in brisk succession would also arouse the ecstasy of his audience.

Contributions[link]

Though GNB's music is often fast pace & rich with swara prastharas, he has also rendered numerous compositions in strictly in the 2nd kala and not letting speed destroy the lyrical beauty of Carnatic compositions. Most of these compositions are the ones that he popularized and revived from the Trinity's repertoire with devoted support from the percussion wizard Palghat Mani Iyer. The duo would work out exactly how a composition needs to be arranged and configured to unravel its richness before being performed. Even with an almost unprecedented musical accumen, such conformity to his concert planning for his compositions often surprised his counterparts.

A well-known example of many such arranged pieces is the swara passages (chittaswaram) that GNB composed for the now popular Vara Raga Laya composition set to the challenging Chechukhamboji raga by St. Thyagaraja. The chittaswaram has acquired a synonymous status with the composition itself and many popular musicians today sing the swara passages in the same way that is arranged by GNB, because of its rhythmic dynamism and unusually beautiful swara combinations of the raga.

His introduction of shruthi bedam, a technically challenging approach of shifting raga from one to another by taking the last note of a raga as the tonic note and starting another raga with it. Though challenged by many of his counterparts as absurd and a taboo for it was claimed that it never existed, GNB identified literary and historical evidences to support the existence of this method in early Indian music. Today this method is almost used in the renditions of most popular Carnatic musicians. The Music Academy, after detailed discussion agreed with his approach to sruthi bedha, as St Thyagraja himself is said to have used it in one of his songs. The Academy, however warned that all and sundy should not try it, as it may land them in trouble.

Influence[link]

His performances with accompanists like Mysore Chowdiah who played with a 7-string violin and then the rising violin star Lalgudi Jayaraman are legendary for the excellent effect they share in bringing out expansive raga alapanas with full flung crescendos and gamakas. Lalgudi Jayaraman would later become one of the most celebrated classical violinists in the world.

His humility also made sure that he gave ample performing opportunities for young upcoming musicians like Palghat R. Raghu, Lalgudi Jayaraman, M. S. Gopalakrishnan, his disciples T.R. Balasubramaniam,, M.L. Vasantha Kumari, T. S. Balasubramaniam and the late Tanjore S. Kalyanaraman, Tanjore.S.Kodandaraman, an All India Radio violin artiste, also shared a part of his glittering limelight.

He composed over 250 compositions krithis with rich prose and musical weight in Sanskrit, Tami and Telugu.

GNB also composed kritis and invented new ragas. He taught a number of students during his active years. Most famous among them are M. L. Vasanthakumari, Radha Jayalakshmi, Thanjavur S. Kalyanaraman, Trichur V. Ramachandran, T. R. Balu, T.S.Balasubramanian, and Ragini.^[1]

GNB worked as the Deputy Chief Producer of Carnatic Music, in A.I.R Chennai for a number of years alongside Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer who was the Chief Producer for Carnatic Music and Dr. M. Balamuralikrishna who the Producer for Light Music and joined the Swathi Thirunal College of Music, Thiruvananthapuram as Principal in March, 1964 state Kerala.

Given the unusually high demand for his performances, his health deteriorated and worsened by an episode of a major stroke in the late 1950s, he died on 1 May 1965.

See also[link]

• List of Carnatic composers

References[link]

• G. N. Balasubramaniam
• G.N.B. Global Centenary Celebrations

Compositions[link]

This article may contain wording that merely promotes the subject without imparting verifiable information. Please remove or replace such wording, unless you can cite independent sources that support the characterization. (October 2009)

T. M. Krishna
Background information
Also known as	TMK
Born	(1976-01-22) January 22, 1976 (age 36) Chennai, India
Genres	Indian classical music
Occupations	Carnatic Vocalist
Years active	1988–present
Website	http://www.tmkrishna.com

T.M. Krishna (Thodur Madabusi Krishna, born 1976) is a Carnatic music vocalist. Hailing from a family of music connoisseurs, he was exposed to the south Indian classical music at an early age. His first concert was at the Spirit of Youth series organized by the Music Academy, Chennai (India). Since then, he has travelled widely in India and abroad and won applause from his listeners. He has received numerous awards and titles from many leading organizations, notable amongst which are the Young Achievers Award by India Today and the Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar Award by the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi. He has released many music albums from leading audio companies like Magna sound, HMV, Inreco, Amudham (USA) and Charsur.

T.M. Krishna was born in Chennai on January 22, 1976. His father was a businessman in the automobile industry and his mother has been running a music school, Kalapeetam, in Chennai.

Krishna's mother used to learn from his guru (teacher) B. Seetharama Sharma when he was four years old. Sharma noticed Krishna's interest in music, and started teaching him at the age of six.

His schooling in KFI, an institution managed by the J. Krishnamurthy trust, influenced his perceptions and outlook towards life, something which the musician has himself revealed numerous times. He went on to receive his B.A. degree in economics from Vivekananda College, Madras. He married Sangeetha Sivakumar, a Carnatic musician herself, on November 7, 1997, and has two daughters, Arya and Anantha. Together, they live in Mylapore, one of the hubs of Carnatic music in Madras.

Early life[link]

Krishna's mother was a carnatic music graduate and his father T.M.Rangachari was a great lover of carnatic classical music, while his grandparents too had immense interest in it.^[1] His grand uncle T.T. Krishnamachari (former Indian finance minister and renowned industrialist) was one of the founders of the Madras Music Academy.^[2]

After tutelage under B. Seetharama Sharma, Krishna underwent special Ragam Thanam Pallavi grooming under Chengalpet Ranganathan. He also received advanced training from the late Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer for more than seven years.

Music career[link]

Krishna assisted his guru Sri Seetharama Sharma in many of his composing projects, including musical operas like The Ramayana (presented in The Reunion Islands in 1993), orchestra presentations and choir presentations. Krishna also toured Singapore in 2001 to compose and conduct the orchestra of the Singapore Fine Arts Society supported by a grant from the National Arts Council of Singapore.

Krishna is known for his resonant voice and strict adherence to classicism. He is widely considered to be the most prominent young male carnatic vocalist with a great depth in knowledge ^[3][4] His concerts are usually marked by an electrifying performance and a deeply moved audience^[5]

Krishna has featured in the Carnatic Concert Movie, Margazhi Raagam along with Bombay Jayashri in 2008

Other activities[link]

He has given numerous lecture demonstrations on various facets of Carnatic music and its history at important institutions. He is presently working on audio archiving the Sangeetha Sampradaya Pradarshini, a musical treatise of very great importance and significance in relation to the compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar.

In 1998, Krishna, along with musicians Vijay Siva and Dr Sunder, authored the first ever Carnatic music appreciation album titled "Learning to Appreciate Carnatic Music". In 2001, along with musician Bombay Jayashree and Sanjay Subrahmanyan, Krishna authored a book on Prof Sambamoorthy, an Indian musicologist of international repute, to commemorate his birth centenary.

In 2007, he co-authored and published a book with Bombay Jayashri titled "Voices Within", the first coffee-table book of its kind, on the legends of Carnatic music. Krishna contributes articles to various publications and websites regarding art, culture, and socio-political issues as well as to his own website.

Krishna is a co-founder of Jnanarnava Trust, an organisation devoted to the research, documentation and archival of the ancient traditions in Carnatic music. (www.jnanarnava.org). He initiated Kalachara Marumalarchi, an organization dedicated to the revival of cultural activities in the interior towns and villages of Tamil Nadu, India and to rejuvenate the function of the temples as cultural hubs. He is also the cofounder of Sumanasa Foundation, an organization to promote Carnatic music and musicians in and around rural areas by sponsoring upcoming musicians.

References[link]

• Iyengar,B.R.C., "Dulcet Tones", Kalasagaram, 2004
• Kumar, S. Vinaya, "Seasoned Musician", The Hindu
• Nisshanka, "TM Krishna: Bravado and Loudness", Chennai Online
• Matrka Website
• Jnanarnava Website
• Other news reviews and articles