Grab MS, A Life In Music Fabricated By T.J.S. George Edition

is a good book, although Sadasivam seems very scary and controlling, this is a case study on the power of marketingmeh
It is also a tale of lost love letters!!, music devotion and how all of these played it's role in society ins India.

It is also an ironic tale of a remarkable woman who must herself be first conquered to conquer millions of hearts,
Fascinating, totally.
This is a good book, A historic perspective of arts and life on MS, This book is as much a fascinating account of MS's journey as a musician as it is about a young girl, from a lessprivileged background, storming the bastions of orthodox, uppercaste Southern India.


Even more so, it is a story about the brahminisation of carnatic music,and thereby, its social reengineering,leading to renewed interests of the upper class in the art form.


Carnatic music which had flourished under the patronship of the royals and the rich, somewhat lost its standing in postindependent Southern India,

Cinema and radio were perhaps the only options for any upcoming female artist to showcase her art, but a good break was rare.
The chance at social acceptance, even more so,

MS herself, whether by intention or by mere turn of events,played a crucial role in changing the fate of carnatic music,

Her marriage to the much older,Kalki Sadasivam, a Tam Bram who had made a name for himself as a fiery freedom fighter and later a journalist, paved the way for her transformation, from a beautiful, upcoming singeractress in Tamil mythologies to a respectable artist from a Tamil Brahmin family.


And with this, came the eventual change in the fortunes of carnatic music,no longer a pariah, but an art which had successfully reinvented itself.


This makes MS's story and her contributions to her art even more important,

T J S George's book documents MS's story in the backdrop of a conservative Tamil society, reluctant to take in outsiders, Her simultaneous subversion of and capitulation to Brahmin South India, through her music, is what makes this book an interesting read, Every one who has heard MS sing should read this book, It takes you back toth century and you feel you have watched a movie on MS, Beautifully written. I salute this divine lady for her endurance to rise up from a social level through her greatest gift of voice, divinity, and humility, I could see an MS before and after Shakuntalai, I felt that Sadasivam gave the star to the world, but killed the soul in her, Perhaps she was happy with her choice candle in the wind! TJS George, many thanks for writing this book with such respect to MS, My only wish is that some one should translate this book in Tamil so that it could reach a wider audience in the South, Book: MS A LIFE IN MUSIC

The author: T J S George writes about his limited Carnatic Musical understanding or history and about consulting several people in the field of Carnatic Music and that made the book possible.
He places MSs life in the larger context Carnatic music, arts, cinema, history, culture, politics and lifestyle of the place she was born, lived and international setting that was to give the picture of the music world of MS and world in her times, as it was.




The book speaks volumes about Music enriching, On MS, there were insights into her life and T J S George brings out the essence, beautifully,



A brief review of her life: few line quotes by the author

MS as a child perfects her Shruthi.
She is the Suswaralakshmi. Her disciplined ambitious mother grooms her musically and exposes her to various people and brings her to Madras, M S gains command over the nuances of classical music her audiences spellbound with her emotional and aesthetic appeal,

The milestone in her life is when she leaves her mother behind in Madurai to chart her own destiny and moves to Madras.
She seeks out Sadasivam to help her, who had done an interview of her for his magazine Kalki who was smitten by her beauty and talent.
She chooses him to protect her freedom fighter and journalist, Her decision was instinct driven strategic decision,

“It was MS who sensed very early in her life that she was likely to end up as the playthings for a Chettiyar here or a zamindar there.
It was MS, in all her naïveté of her budding teens, who decided that she should chart out a different destiny for herself, "



MS was a simple woman, Her goal was to get married and have a family for herself, feel belonged to community, Her asset is her music her passion to sing,

George brings out all the skeletons out along with the story truthfully,

When MS moved in with Sadasivam, walking out of her mothers in, Sadasivam was very much married expecting his second child, Slowly the relationship between the husband and wife degenerated his first wife became a nonentity not able to accept presence of another woman in the household with ongoing scandal, fights, accusation and drama, she fell into depression and bitterness.


Sadasivam was busy charting MSs career in cinema and protecting MS from her mother and brother who wanted to take her back and settle with a wealthy man who would be a patron of Music.
In their view, Sadasivam was nowhere near “wealthy” and was going to spoil MS shoving her into movies,

Her career in movies made her popular and there was undeniable illustriousness that made the infatuated Sadasivam pay much closer attention to her.
He guards her zealously and she submissively accepts his control for her own safety,

During the making of movie Shakuntalai, although she was living with Sadasivam, MS fell in love with G N Balasubramanian, who was a legend and married.
The hightension drama ended when Sadasivams first wife died, He hurriedly tied thee knots with MS,

MS became his, He protected her from the lecherous, wealthy and affluent men of the society, But he was yet to meet the challenge her passion to sing and to reach out,



He strategically charted the Bhakti path for her by producing the last movie Meera and promoted as an exemplar of Bhakti.
He was also her guru, He facilitated her interaction with the Ustads and experimented with music and achieved purity and perfection for MS, He removed all distractions from her life nobody could get to MS without Sadasivams approval, Media was kept away. He promoted her music and an image that of a simple, childlike, loving, spiritual woman, attached only to her music and immediate family,

Bhakti came to MS naturally modest and humble she let the power of her Music take her to great heights saintliness,

Sadasivam completely controlled her career, impeccably picked the ragas and songs that would suit MS the best and planned her concerts meticulously, He charted the path to international fame by breaking the barriers, It was his ambition for MS and he used all his strength and power to make it happen,



Their journey filled with enriching experiences personal losses and gains, She got married, she loved Sadasivams daughters as her own, took care of them, she became a brahmin by virtue, although not by birth, her husband loved her and cared for her deeply she was the last one he saw before he passed away peacefully in, although her wish was to die before him a sumangali and she ended her music career after her husband passed away, her memory failing, she gives in to ailments and passes away in.




The author, T J

S George concludes, assessing her life what contributed to “achievement” bringing out the essence: Quote from the book

"The personal victory achieved by MS lay in her coming from a community devadasi that was a fashionable target of abuse, but yet reaching the heights she did.
The circumstances of her upbringing decreed that she must fit her art into the conventions that governed her mother's life and her mother's life before that.
Her being born a woman was, in fact, a key to the life and career of MS, "

“MS: Her singular achievement was that she navigated her way forward without getting lulled by the good fortune or hurt by the afflictions.
The guidance she received from others helped a great deal but it was her fundamentally, it was her ingrained qualities of goodness, simplicity and selfeffacement that endeared her to her generation.
”

“She faced the prospect of gaining or losing as a woman, She gained by showing resoluteness when crisis points in her life called for resoluteness, Such determination on her part was all the remarkable because by belief and temperament she was very much a submissive traditionalist, ”



With all the skeletons out in the open, the book is tepid that stir to calm and gives us peace, just like MSs music.
TJS George's writing is brilliant about the icon, the legend nestled in richhistory of Carnatic Music and consolidates how the music industry is shaping with all the changes.


For Karnatic Music enthusiasts MS is a person who ever remains godly beautiful with that saintly glow on her face which is so endearing and arousing.
Well researched and pieced together, The author manages to give us a glimpse into M, S's life.
An well written book, .