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         A concert is a daily test of the calibre of a musician. A slight lapse may let the musician down and a constant vigil is essential

                                                                                                                                                                                  - MLV

        Dr M L V Rasikar Manram is celebrating MLV Remembrance Day (4 November 2006), today at Russian Cultural Centre, Mylapore, Chennai. I had the good fortune of meeting and knowing MLV in the last ten years of her life. I never missed discussing some of the finer aspects of her music and that of her Guru the great GNB. In my view both of them were giants in the divine art of music. Why is music called the divine art, when all other arts are not so called? We may certainly see GOD in all arts and in all sciences, but in music alone we see God free from all forms and thoughts. In every other art there is idolatry. Every thought, every word has its form. Sound alone is free from form. Every word of great poetry forms a picture in our mind.

        Sound alone does not make any object appear before us. That is why the great English writer and savant of Victorian England Thomas Carlyle wrote these inspiring words: 'Music is well said to be the speech of Angels. The meaning of song goes deep. Who is there that, in logical words, can express the effect music has on us? A kind of inarticulate, unfathomable speech, which leads us to the edge of the infinite, and lets us for moments gaze into that'. I always had this exhilarating and exalted feeling whenever and wherever I had the opportunity of listening to the great music of M L Vasanthakumari, popularly called as MLV by all her admirers.

M L Vasanthakumai was born in Madras in 1928. Her father was Ayya Swamy Iyer who was a noted musician. Her mother Lalithangi was also a great musician. When Deshbandu Chitharanjan Das (1870 -1925) died in 1925, Lalithangi came out with a beautiful song by way of tribute to his national spirit and patriotism. A rare gramophone record (made in England) of her glorious voice rendering this song is in my private possession.         MLV had her school education in a convent in Madras and was all set to pursue a medical career when the great Carnatic musician G N Balasubramaniam (GNB) came into her life. We are but the instruments of heaven; our work is not design, but destiny. The eternal truth is that which is not allotted the hand cannot reach; and what is allotted you will find wherever you may be. So was it in the case of MLV. GNB became her Guru and thus her whole life story affirms one's belief in Madame Destiny. It is best told in her own words: 'My parents had rendered yeomen service to Carnatic music. They were mainly instrumental in popularising the compositions of Purandara Dasa in South India. They were not keen that I should enter the music field and gave me general education. But in the musical atmosphere of my house, I had ample opportunity of practicing vocal music. Once G N Balasubramaniam heard me sing and he prevailed upon my parents to place me under his tutelage. It was he who was responsible for the status I occupy in the music world today'.

M L Vasanthakumai

        MLV had the unique privilege of learning Carnatic music at the feet of a genius like GNB. To quote the beautifully appropriate words of Indira Menon in this context: 'GNB was a self-taught artiste, his racy style sparkling with brigas and nuances never heard before, revealed a new range of colours on the musician's palette. The brisk tempo unleashed by his powerful and pliable voice found many admirers and imitators among the younger generations, though it raised many an eyebrow among the senior vidwans. Was his music according to Sampradaya (tradition) or not, was the question that was frequently asked?'

        In the case of GNB, so great was his genius that what might have seemed like a deviation from Sampradaya was acceptable from him though it might not have been so from a lesser artiste. His charismatic personality, bold innovations and technical virtuosity became an inspiration for an entire generation of musicians. After GNB, speed and briga-laden music became the vogue — to the extent that to be true to one's self and to sing according to one's vocal capacity required a great deal of courage.

        M L Vasanthakumari, GNB's first disciple, imbibed much of his style, but did not make a fetish of speed and struck out on her own and evolved an inimitable style.

        With such a tremendous advantage of having a genius like GNB as her Guru, it is not surprising that she had a smooth sailing when she entered the swirling waters of platform music and singing. In 1940 her mother Lalithangi gave a resplendent musical recital in Simla. MLV was then only 12 years old. She made her debut by accompanying her mother. Two years later in 1942, MLV gave a solo recital in Bangalore. She also cut her first 78 rpm disc which many music lovers of that period recall vividly because it created a sensation. From then on she progressed in geometrical progression as a platform artiste and by 1950 she had established herself as a front-ranker. A learned music critic has said that MLV brought the struggle of women in the world of music to a successful culmination. Her music had more male characteristics than that of any other female musician.

        Her music was more cerebral than emotional. MLV compensated this by her rich and original Manodharma. She was a genius in all forms of tricky, instantaneous, brilliant and contextual improvisation and opened up new vistas for lovers of Carnatic Music. What was the principal expression of life in the visible beauty of her music which we heard with all our hearts? There was movement in her music — in line, in colour, in the changes of the Bhava like the rising and falling of the waves of the ocean. Her Alapana was packed with nuances and ideas bursting out of a rich imagination. She always had something new to say in every Kriti and was capable of giving a distinct Swaroopa to unfamiliar ragas which were noted for their non-descript nature. With a deep, rich and melodious voice she could weave a melody of complex raga phrases, all highly innovative and original, and studded with scintillating diamonds of swara patterns. To quote the brilliant words of Indira Menon once again : 'MLV did adopt her Guru's idea of a quick impressionistic sketch of the raga covering the two octaves at the start, but settled down to a reposeful elaboration, unfolding it gradually with her virtuosity in the form of BRIGA -CASCADES appearing only where necessary. She was careful not to carry to an excess what her versatile voice was capable of'.

        MLV's mastery over vocal techniques was comprehensive and complete. She could effortlessly render several difficult Ragas, with her Alapana and Swaraprasthara suitably embellished with shruthi-bheda. Even as Yasoda had glimpses of several worlds in the open mouth of Lord Krishna, her listeners too had the same ecstatic experience when she sang and more particularly when in a lightning manner she shifted gracefully from the melodic world of one Raga in one pitch to another Raga in another pitch. In this context one has to refer to Raga combinations like Shanmugapriya-Sankarabharanam, Bhairavi-Kamas, Abhogi-Valaji to illustrate this point. Ragam - Thanam-Pallavi (RTP) was her forte. In this exciting sphere of Carnatic Music, MLV not only maintained the great tradition established by DK Pattammal but enriched it in her own unique way. Alas, today RTP has become a dead art because of speed culture and fast foods. High speed and high culture go ill together.

        As one of the top ranking platform artistes, MLV was noted for her charm, grace, warmth, self-restraint and humility. Her self-restraint as an artiste can be understood from her own words: 'Brigas in fast tempo should adhere to the sruthi and above all, true music must touch the listener's heart.'

        At the same time, she did not underestimate the use of gamaka and openly acknowledged that she owed her deep knowledge of the finer points of music to her Gurukulavasa with GNB.

        Lalithangi, MLV's mother had a vast repertoire of Purandaradasa, the Father of Carnatic Music. She passed on this glorious tradition to her daughter MLV. Like Brinda bringing Kshetrayya Padams to the public platform, MS Subbalakshmi bringing Annamacharya Kritis to the public arena, MLV made the Devaranamas of Purandaradasa popular coins of currency in wide circulation in the world of Carnatic Music.

        MLV was a front ranking artiste for more than 50 years. She passed away in 1990 at the age of 63. Beauty and sublimity were the cardinal characteristics of her music. The divine quality of her music was like an infinite space and a sea without a shore. I would conclude this personal tribute by quoting the immortal lines of Khalil Gibran:

        'Oh! Your Music!!

        In your depths we deposit our hearts

        And souls

        Thou has taught us to see with our

        Ears

        And hear with our hearts!