The Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi Centenary Awards were presented to seven of India’s most respected women artistes on Tuesday: vocalists Girija Devi, Kishori Amonkar, Aruna Sairam and Vishaka Hari; dancers Yamini Krishnamurthy and Vyjayanthimala Bali; and Pandavani exponent Teejan Bai. The late M.S. Subbulakshmi’s birth centenary celebrations, which began last year at the Sri Shanmukhananda hall, are concluding with a week-long festival that began on September 12.
During the keynote address at the Sri Shanmukhananda Hall in Matunga, V. Shankar, chairperson of the Sri Shamukhananda Fine Arts and Sangeetha Sabha, said that while the first day of the festival showcased the life and times of M.S. Subbulakshmi through the medium of theatre, the second day was meant to symbolically award seven great woman performers, corresponding to the seven notes of the Indian musical scale.
Mr. Shankar spoke of Ms. Subbulakshmi's compassion for the poor and the incredible affection she had for her rasikas . He recalled a story of a concert in which she sang for a full extra hour for the benefit of a poor elderly couple who had walked the whole day to reach her concert but had arrived late.
He said that unlike other great vocalists, the artists who accompanied her often stayed with her for several years, a mark of the respect she afforded them.
Each of the awardees was given a shawl, a cut-out of Ms. Subbulakshmi, a cheque of Rs. 1 lakh, and a CD collection of her music.
Carnatic vocalist Aruna Sairam, who has been performing at Shamukhananda Sabha from a young age, said she was thrilled that the entire music hall was adorned with beautiful pictures of Ms. Subbulakshmi across phases of her life. "When I go to places like Salzburg in Austria, I see that they celebrate Mozart everywhere. You can't turn anywhere and not see a picture of him in a shop, on a t-shirt or on a chocolate wrapper. I wondered if this could happen for one of our great artistes and today, it has. This is the way a commemoration should be done," she said.
