M.S. Subbalakshmi

An adoration that I'm unable shake off

Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbalakshmi. She is Divine, melodious, cool and refreshing. Venketeswara Suprabhatham is a song from M.S. that I've grown up with, and now that I've reached middle age, I still wake to this song, It marks the beginning of my day. An adoration that I'm unable shake off, part of my life. To me and many, she is not merely a performer, not even a saintly singer - She is a Goddess incarnate. Hers is not a human art but a divine grace which manifests itself through her voice. I am but a listener who is lost in a trance.

Unnikrishna, India - 13 January 2005