Viji unplugged

காற்றினிலே வரும் கீதமாய், எங்கள் அதனை பேர் உள்ளத்திலும் அழகாய், மிளிர்ந்து கொண்டிருக்கும் Smt. MS....

Somewhere during my school life, I fell in love with her voice.  "ஸ்ரீ ரங்க பூர விஹாரா " and "பாவயாமி ரகுராமம்", later hundreds of her songs added to my playlist.

Keeping this post short.

Have you felt that hunger pang stir, when Tamilians who stay away from Tamil Nadu, experience a South Indian thali, a Keralite experiencing Sadhya in New York, a Gujarati experiencing Mohanthaal or a dokla in Tamil Nadu, a Kannadiga experiencing Bisibela huliannah in Chicago and a Telugu guy experiencing Gonkura at Adelaide.  It is easy to relate to your palate and respond to it.

The sweetest of roses perfume, the fresh cologne on a man, the aroma of freshly prepared food, hits our senses and we are in seventh heaven.

But ears, we do not often experience with what it would like to listen.  Rarely we treat it with music. Especially soul stirring ones, music that stir nostalgia in us, music that takes us to that other world where there are no disturbances.

Smt. M. S. Subbulakshmi popularly known as MS, is noted for her devotional voice.  When you listen to her, you take the shape of a tambura and turn into those strings stirred by her voice. The experience is beyond explanation.  You feel like a participant yourself, not just an audience.  It is difficult to express, but that's how we will feel.  The oneness with her.  It feels as if you become her. Yeah! told you right? tough to explain.

This day 100 years ago, she was born and more than that after 100 years, we are talking about her and I am sure she will be remembered after another 10 centuries too...

At times her songs are like gentle breeze that embraces you, at times a refreshing shower, at times a turbulent storm, at times a melancholic stir that triggers tears in your eyes, a joy that has no bounds...

I see her as Meera
I see her as Krishna
I see her as Narayana
I see her as Annamaya
I see her as Sankara
I see her as Kumara
I see her as Thiyagaiyar
I see her as Syama
I see her as Dhikshitar
I see her as Surdas
I see her as Kabir

She remains....