The Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi, remains an unsurpassed phenomenon in Carnatic music. He was addressing the gathering at the Birth Centenary Commemoration of Dr. M.S. Subbalakshmi, in Chennai, Tamil Nadu today. The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri Banwarilal Purohit, the Minister for Fisheries, Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Tamil Nadu, Shri D. Jayakumar, family members of Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that Dr. M.S. Subbulakshmi affectionately referred to as MS Amma was the face of Indian Carnatic music for several decades. He further said that she captivated the hearts of billions, not only in Tamil nadu, South India or India but in the entire world. Setting aside mere gimmicks and gymnastics of classical music, she delved deep into the soul of the music and brought forth the treasures from there, not only to the pundits or the elite but also to the common man, he added.The Vice President said that she rose to heights where all differences vanished and she took us there with her. He further said that all the Nations stood united when she sang in the assembly of the United Nations Organisation. In the enjoyment of such a fine expression of art all differences of caste creed, race and nationality evaporated, he added.
The Vice President said that even Mahatma Gandhi was spell bound when he listened to her rendition of 'Vaishnava Janatho'. He further said that knowing that she might not be able to sing a song he had requested, Mahatma Gandhi is supposed to have said, “I would rather hear her recite the lines than hear anyone else sing it”.The Vice President said that titans on the opposite sides of ideology, the likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Rajaji, united and stood together when it came to appreciating the music that flowed in her mellifluous voice. He further said that even the great sage of Kanchi, his holiness, the Paramacharya was not an exception. She was an epitome of grace, respected by one and all he added.The Vice President said that she was not only a singer par excellence, but was also a great actor who donned the roles of baktha meera and Sakunthala on silver screen. He further said that she had that glow, that divine glow, hailed by the great philosopher president Dr S Radhakrishnan as 'Brahma Tejas' found in the "God intoxicated faces" of great sages. Dr Sarojini Naidu was the Nightingale of India by her verses, Dr MS Subbulakshmi was the Nightingale of India by her voice, he added.