022 : M.S - Musical face of India

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi (M.S Amma), needs no introduction to India, she was the first Indian Musician to be awarded Bharat Ratna. Recently i was searching for some carnatic stuff and landed upon this excellent documentary video on MS Amma. It was really excellent. One thing amazes me about MS amma is the elite class she belongs to interacting with Mahatma , Nehru and the lineage of Presidents and PM's of India, Extra ordinary performance in UN..but lived a simple and down to earth life.

Even today when I listen to "Kurai Ondrum illai..." or Baja Govindam or Sriman Narayana ..list is endless..they are the best Tranqulizers. Smt MS and Sri Sadhasivam were the pair made for each other. The charity couple have donated enormous amount of money to the social cause . who will get such a rare blessing , that Sri Venkateshwara of Tirupathi wakes up with the Suprabhatam sung by her.

Anecdote on Smt MS Amma and Sri Sadhasivam

H.Y. Sharada Prasad, a close friend of MS and Sadasivam, writes about their marriage:"It was a remarkable marriage. They made a striking pair. Wherever they went or sat, all eyes turned towards them, because of Subbulakshmi's extraordinary grace and beauty and the large, radiant eyes outshining the diamonds and silks she wore. Sadasivam had a presence which by no means was in the shadows. There he was, upright and broad-shouldered and handsome, in his white khadi and the lines of sacred ash on his forehead. Subbulakshmi seemed to lean on him like the jasmine creeper twining itself around a tall tree. When the two entered a room, one felt as if more lights had been switched on. There were some who called them Parvathi-Parameshwar...."

007 : Magical Duo - IR & SPB

Magical Duo - IR & SPB "We all know "Annakili" 1976 was the first movie by raja, and many would even know the famous anecdote associated with the first recoding when Ilayaraja went ahead to record his first song power tripped off. Then recording was bad. Then when everything went on well and he wanted to listen to the song, to his shock. he discovered that the recordists did not run the tape and the song was not recorded. IR told that he felt that's the end of his career but we know what happened later . Now here is a the question, What was the first song by SPB in Raja's Music ? Answer in the next para.

A memorable anecdote an accident that bonded friend ship further

Anecdote associated with the movie and song: (Source) Raja was invited to compose for a film called UYIR. Bala and a few others sang and recorded 4 songs under Raja’s composition. The film never materialised. Then came Annakili. Bala and Raja were among the thickest of friends. However, when Annakili came by, Raja could not impose on using Bala. It was Raja’s debut and Panju had all the say. Raja was interested in breaking through. But when URAVADUM NENJAM was in the making, Raja made sure Bala was in. In an attempt to honour his close friend, Raja wanted to make sure he composed a song that would be cherished by both the composer and the singer. Remember the title of the film is also URAVADUM NENJAM. So Ilayaraja centered all his energy, effort and imagination to compose what would ever remain as one of the best songs for a best friend of his. Likewise, SP Bala too made sure he sang with much feeling. S. Janaki too followed suit. The lyrics were by Panju Arunasalam.The song, especially the orchestration was something unknown to many fans of Tamil film music. It is mentioned that the violinists found it really difficult to play the orchestration . Ilayaraja told Bala that the film would run for 100 days on the strength of the song. Raja proposed, but the moviegoers disposed. The film became an utter failure- commercially. However, the song became immortalised.The story did not end there. It was on the lips of Bala for a long time. Every time Bala entered the recording studio, he used to sing to himself or hum this song. And Raja used to immediately respond, “ Naama Ennnumo Nenachom, Padam Odalaiye daa” (These two friends called each other “vaada poda.”) (from one of IR’s interviews) Click here to Listen

"Oru Naal Unnodu Oru Naal" from Uravadum Nenjam, is the first song sung by SPB for Raja,