Where was she born?
Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbalakshmi or Kunjamma, as she was known to her family, was born on September 16, 1916 in the temple town of Madurai.
How did her interest in music develop?
Her grandmother was a violinist and her mother a noted veena player. She grew up in an atmosphere filled with music.
When did she make her debut?
In 1934, at the age of 17, Subbalakshmi made her debut at the Madras Music Academy.
In how many languages did she sing?
M.S. Subbalakshmi sang Carnatic songs and devotional songs in ten Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Sanskrit and Malayalam.
What were the awards and honours conferred on her?
The first award that she received was the ‘Isai Vani’ Award from Semangudi Srinivasa Iyer and Rajamanickam Pillai in 1940. The Ramon Magsaysay Award, Bharat Ratna and the Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration were some of the awards conferred on her. Subbalakshmi was the first Indian woman to sing for the United Nations General Assembly on U.N. Day in 1966.
A particular blue shade of Kancheepuram saris has been named ‘MS Blue’ after her.