Mudurai  Shanmukhavadivu  Subbulakshmi   popularly known as M.S. was a renowned carnatic vocalist. She was one of the great woman artistes of India who had been able to move the hearts of millions and millions of men and women and was the most beloved idol of the public in the recent  annals  of Indian  Music.

Subbulakshmi was born on September 16, 1916 at Madurai to Smt. Shanmukhavadivu, a celebrated veena artiste of her times. At the tender age of 13, she made her maiden public recital with her mother, who was also her Guru. She studied under Srinivasa Iyengar of Madurai who taught her upto the 'varnam' stage. In the later years she had the good fortune to learn from several great musicians like Musiri Subramanya Iyer and Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer. In 1940, she married T. Sadasivam, a freedom fighter and a film director. She gained in him a friend, philosopher and mentor.

Two events brought Subbulakshmi early into national prominence. The first was her participation in the All India Dance conference in Mumbai  in 1944 where her performance created a great sensation. The  second was  her  appearance  in the lead-role in the film 'Meera' produced by her husband where she sang and acted, which brought her instant all-India-fame. So overwhelming was her music that Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru crowned her as "Queen of  Song" and Sarojini Naidu, a poet and leader of our freedom movement praised her for the beauty of her voice and the magic of her personality.

Subbulakshmi known for her extraordinary vocal range never exceeded the demand of  the  composition  of  the  song. She breathed music twenty-four hours a day and was also deeply religious. Her famous renditions include Bhajagovindam, Vishnu Sahasranamam and Venkateswara Suprabhatham. Gandhiji loved her rendition of North Indian Bhajans and requested her to sing some for his 78th birthday on October 2, 1947. Gandhiji particularly wanted to hear "Hari Tuma Haro" whose haunting refrain translates, "Oh Lord,  take  away  the pain from mankind". Not knowing this bhajan, she suggested another singer, but he refused, saying that he  would  rather listen her speak the words than  another  sing them. Such was the influence of the divine voice of Subbulakshmi.

She was India's cultural ambassador. She has traveled widely to places like London, New York, Canada, the Far East to give concerts. In 1963, Subbulakshmi was invited to participate  in the most popular event 'Edinburgh Festival'. In October 1966, Subbulakshmi sang at United Nations as India's representative on the occasion of United Nations Day celebrations. Hers was the inaugural concert at the Festival of India in London in 1982 and in the Soviet Union in 1987.

Subbulakshmi has rendered more than 200 benefit performances in aid of several national, social, religious and cultural causes and raised over a Crore rupees. She has received several titles and awards the world over. She was awarded 'Padma Bhushan' in 1954, when the National awards were first instituted. She was also honoured with title 'Sangeetha Kalanidhi'. She was awarded Ramon Magsaysay.Award in the year 1974 and the entire amount of US $ 10,000 has been donated to the Bharatiya  Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai,  the V.H.S. Hospital etc. She was honoured  with  'Padma Vibhushan'  title in  1975. She was conferred Doctorate Degree "Desikbttama" by Visva Bharathi University, Shanthiniketan, in 1981. She was awarded 'Bharath Ratna ', the highest civilian award of Govt. of India in the year 1998. In addition, she received many' other awards conferred Doctorate, the list of which will be exhaustive.

Subbulakshmi's music was unique in that it had universal appeal' In addition to 'its technical perfection, it was full of devotion  to  God. She  had  the  ability  to  harmonize  strict standards and popular  appeal to do justice  to the Music of South and the North. She used to point out that Ragas and Bhajans have been composed for the "purpose of directing the minds of the listeners towards  God and his manifestations" and that "one's singing comes  through  one's  own  experience and it is this depth of feeling that enables one to communicate with  the  audience".

M.S. Subbulakshmi gave lot of importance to mastering pronunciation, proper  intonation. She always believed in hard work and that there was no short cut and advocated gurukula system of learning. Subbulakshmi advocated compulsory teaching of music at all level of education, from primary through University for she believed that just as the study of science leads to the growth of knowledge, the study of music would bring serenity of mind.

The great musician  attained Lord's abode on 11th December 2004.

The Department of Posts is proud to issue a commemorative postage stamp in honour of M.S. Subbulakshmi, who had mesmerized packed audiences the world over with her consummate mastery of carnatic music for almost six decades.

Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India