M.S. Subbalakshmi – The Queen of Song

Music moves earthlings and the gods. It reaches the pinnacle when there is a combination of talent, learning and commitment.

Technical perfection alone can sometimes be boring. But when knowledge of music is combined with the personality of a singer like MS Subbalakshmi (popularly known as ‘MS’), lyrics take wings, compositions become sublime and listeners are carried to ecstasy.

Here the word ‘personality’ is used in its wider meaning. It involves devotion, voice, clarity of pronunciation, capacity to carry pitches which lesser mortals falter at, application, and beauty. MS had all these and more.

There was hard work as well. Born in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, on September 16, 1916, MS grew up near the Meenakshi Temple to the sound of music. By the time she finished the basics, her guru, Madurai Srinivasa Iyengar passed away, but the sad event did not deter her. She went on to learn, under different teachers, Hindustani classical, Rabindra Sangeeth, bhajans and other areas of music.

Since the time she cut her first record at the age of ten, MS did not look back. Hers was a life devoted to music, except for a short stint in cinema that she combined with her singing. Her ‘Meera’, released in Tamil and Hindi, was a runaway success.

MS gave concerts before distinguished audiences in different parts of the world. She sang not only in Kannada which was her mother tongue but also in Tamil, Telungu, Malayalam, Hindi, Gujarati, Bengali and Sanskrit. She was bestowed with many honors. These included Bharat Ratna. MS was the first musician to receive that distinction. Pandit Nehru is reported to have said about her “Who am I, a mere prime minister, before the Queen of Song?”

MS Subbalakshmi, the nightingale, died at the age of 88. For downloading her songs, visit Downloads of M.S.Subbalakshmi's songs

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Photo: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain

Also see: Dances for the gods.

Gardening: More photos of Kerala flowers

These photos are from Olavipe, taken earlier this month.










Photos by Abraham Tharakan. Copyright reserved.

Click on images for enlarged view.

Also see:

Photographs: Ixora Coccinea flowers

Photos: Lilies that grow in Kerala

Kerala Flowers?

Karthiki captures some Olavipe flowers

Nostalgia: Lili Marlene, the Lady of the Lamplight

What makes a song immortal? Is it the lyrics? Or the tune? Or the way it is rendered? Perhaps it is a combination of all these and more.

Take the rather baffling case of the song Lili Marlene (English version: Lilly Marlene). It has been hailed as the most popular war song of all time. But is Lili Marlene really a war song? It is a love song, a romantic, sentimental piece that was, rather strangely, set to a marching tune. Lili Marlene was written during a war and attained the pinnacle of popularity during another war.

A German soldier, Hans Liep penned the lyrics on which Lili Marlene is based, in 1915 during World War I. After gathering dust for twenty two years it was discovered in 1937, when Nobert Schultze set it to music. The original recording of Lili Marlene by Lale Andersen in 1939 did not create any waves. Joseph Gobbles, Propaganda Secretary of Nazi Socialist Party, is said to have hated the song.

But Field Marshal Erwin Rommel intuitively identified the potential of Lili Marlene and it was broadcast daily over Radio Belgrade for his Afrika Korps. The effect was stunning.

From underneath the lantern Lili of the lamplight reached out to the soldiers on the desert. The song had pathos, romance, and intensity of feeling. It talked of love and longing and loneliness. It captured the hearts and the souls of the fighting men. Imagine the effect the following words (by Tommie Connor in the English version of Lili Marlene) would have on lonesome soldiers far away from home:

Resting in our billets, just behind the lines
Even tho' we're parted, your lips are close to mine
You wait where that lantern softly gleams,
Your sweet face seems to haunt my dreams
My Lilly of the Lamplight, my own Lilly Marlene

In what could possibly be termed a faux pas, Rommel apparently had not considered that sentiments transcend national boundaries. Soon the Allied soldiers too picked up the song. According to one story, when a senior officer berated a British soldier for singing Lili Marlene in German, the victim answered with a counter question, “Sir, do we have an English version?” A translation was made quickly and BBC started airing it. Thus came about a strange situation where the same song Lili Marlene, became the favorite with both sides in the war.

The Marlene Dietrich rendering of Lili Marlene was perhaps the pick among the many recordings of the song. Even after World War II, Lili Marlene continued to be popular with versions by Vera Lynn and others. It has been translated to nearly fifty languages. When asked about the reason for the popularity of the song, Lale Andersen, the German singer who first recorded it, is reported to have stated, "Can the wind explain why it became a storm?"

The storm might have abated but even 60 years after the World War II, the passion for Lili Marlene lives on. On several web sites you can listen to the song and download it.

Lili Marlene waits eternally “Underneath the lantern, By the barrack gate”.

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Note: Photos from Wikipedia Top - Rommel, Bottom - Marlene Dietrich. A similar post was published in Articles By Abraham Tharakan on April 7, 2007.

Also see:

World War II: MAN WHO ARRESTED ROMMEL.

Some memories of WW II, Cochin and the 1940s.

Amazing Grace.

Trafficking in women.

Did you know that India is a major destination for trafficking in women and children? So says a UN report. The country is a source and transit point as well.

Globally, human trafficking is the third largest criminal business after arms and drugs. It is estimated that annually this activity generates an income of 7 to 12 billion US Dollars. The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that the operators pocket an additional 32 billion USD when the victims are delivered at the destination.

I happened to look into this matter, on reading an article that is included in the January issue of Inside the Vatican. It is about the Italian nun, Sr. Eugenia Bonetti, M.C who is doing commendable work in the anti-trafficking field. What caught my attention particularly was the statement, “millions of women are trafficked in India”. It sounded exaggerated.

On cross-checking I found other sources endorsing the estimate. This involves men, women and children for work and sexual exploitation. 90% of India’s sex trafficking is internal according to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).

However, Girija Vyas, Chairperson, National Commission for Women, is reported to have said, "All figures are rough estimates. But it's believed to run in hundreds of thousands."

Inside the Vatican says, “Trafficking thrives where poverty, economic disparity and lack of employment opportunities exist. Women make up 70% of the world’s poor and bear the heaviest burden.”

How to tackle the problem effectively? The INTERPOL wants improvement and increase in international collaboration and law enforcement. In India, the National Commission for Women has submitted some suggestions to the authorities.

Sr. Eugenia Bonetti, M.C. has inspired USMI, a coalition of 627 women’s congregations. It runs several shelters where the victims of trafficking are offered safety and help to rebuild their lives. Sr. Eugenia has also taken the leadership in launching an international anti-trafficking network, which is the first of its kind.

This good sister is on the list of Inside the Vatican’s top ten people of 2007.

Ends.

Also see:

Quick ways to make a difference

Savage Kerala

Kerala Architecture: Exterior of a heritage home

Westside views of the Thekkanattu Parayil Tharakans'

heritage home at Olavipe, Kerala

Center portion

View from the north end. In the foreground is the 'nalukettu' area.

Click on images for enlarged view. Photos by Abraham Tharakan. Copyright reserved.

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Also see:

Kerala Architecture - Olavipe Heritage Home

Kerala Architecture: Nalukettu, ettukettu, pathinarukettu

Indian Republic Day

I think it is appropriate to present these historic photographs
on the eve of the Republic Day.

Salt March

Patel, Nehru, Gandhi

Bose at the 1939 Tripura Congress session

Nehru and Gandhi

Motilal Nehru family.

[These Public Domain photos are from Wikimedia Commons.
Click on them for enlarged view.]

JAI HIND

Also see:
India - national symbols

Weaver birds, the master home builders

Remember the old song ‘mi casa, su casa ... welcome to my hacienda’? That’s what the male weaver birds do. They build beautiful nests to attract the females during the mating season. The youngsters are not so adept at it but develop the skills as they become older. Logically this means that the more mature ones get better mates!

The nests are intricately woven. That is the accepted word for these avian homes though a great deal of stitching too is involved. The building materials come from locally available vegetation – grass, leaf fibers, and sometimes fine twigs. The shapes and designs differ. Some may be single accommodation (the male sits out on a branch in such cases), others, double.

In the following photos taken by me at Olavipe, the one at the top is single and the other duplex:

These nests of weaver birds are built with many safeguards against predators and the elements. They are always suspended, usually on branches or trees that overhang water bodies. In my place in coastal Kerala weaver bird colonies (they like to flock together) are normally found on fronds of coconut palms. The entrance to the nest is at the bottom.

There are over a hundred species of weaver birds, mainly in Africa, Asia and Australia. They are small, varying in size from 4.5 to 7 inches. These cute little birds are basically seed eaters. Some feed on insects as well.

The weaver birds are related to finches

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The photo of the bird on top right hand corner is Public Domain, from Wikimedia Commons. Click on the others for enlarged view.

Also see:

Birds: Photos & Poetry