“Kanchi Mahaperiyavaa observed that MS, Sadasivam and Radha create enough [money] only to give,” said governor of Andhra Pradesh, E.S.L. Narasimhan.
Delivering a speech on the 97 birth anniversary of legendary Carnatic vocalist M.S. Subbulakshmi on Monday, he said that MS and Radha Viswanathan always donated the proceeds from their concerts to charity and took solace in that.
Observing that the two were the right people to deliver the song Maitreem Bhajata composed by Kanchi Paramacharya, he said that they have believed and followed what the song asks us to do – the song insists on friendship among world nations.
“MS amma was rightly named Subbulakshmi. Shubham is the ultimate thing in life – her parents probably knew that she would bring shubham to the entire world,” he said. He added that MS and Radha didn’t have a mere mother-daughter relationship – their bond went far beyond that.
V. Ramnarayan, editor of Sruti, a magazine on Indian performing arts, said there were two instances in life when he understood why and how MS created such a great impact on millions of people and not just elite music lovers.
“Once, when I walked past a slum in Thiruvanmiyur and crossed about 100 houses, every house was playing MS’s Suprabhatham . When she passed away the number of poor people who came to her funeral was astounding,” he said.
He said that she distinguished herself from any other musician that he knew.
“There was a time when MS amma was voicing her anxiety to Radha, who instantly responded saying: ‘You sing Kurai Ondrum Illai and convince the whole world that there are no worries while you are actually bursting with worries.’”
Mridangam player T. K. Murthy who played for M.S. Subbulakshmi for nearly 60 years said that Radha Viswanathan knew how aptly she had to support her mother during a concert.
