Madras Lalitangi Vasanthakumari : மெட்ராஸ் லலிதாங்கி வசந்தகுமாரி popularly referred to as MLV July 3, 1928 - October 31, 1990 , was a and for film songs in many Indian languages. A prime disciple of the , she was the youngest among the established musicians of that era, and was the youngest female awardee of the award. Additionally, she popularised the compositions of and other Dasas , and was responsible for popularizing his compositions Baarokrishnayya, Innu daya barade, among others. Her father, Kuthanur Ayya Swamy Iyer, was a noted musician while her mother, Lalithangi, was also a great musician. When Deshbandu Chitharanjan Das 1870—1925 died in 1925, Lalithangi came out with a beautiful song by way of tribute to his national spirit and patriotism. A rare gramophone record made in England of her glorious voice rendering this song is said to be in V. MLV's school education was in Madras, in a convent, where all was set to pursue a medical career until the great Carnatic musician came into her life. He became her guru. In her own words: My parents had rendered yeomen service to Carnatic music. They were mainly instrumental in popularising the compositions of Purandara Dasa in South India. They were not keen that I should enter the music field and gave me general education. But in the musical atmosphere of my house, I had ample opportunity of practicing vocal music. Once G N Balasubramaniam heard me sing and he prevailed upon my parents to place me under his tutelage. It was he who was responsible for the status I occupy in the music world today. She was also GNB's first disciple. Indira Menon said that GNB was a self-taught artiste, his racy style sparkling with brigas and nuances never heard before, revealed a new range of colours on the musician's palette. The brisk tempo unleashed by his powerful and pliable voice found many admirers and imitators among the younger generations, though it raised many an eyebrow among the senior vidwans. Was his music according to Sampradaya tradition or not, was the question that was frequently asked? His personality, bold innovations and technical virtuosity became an inspiration for an entire generation of musicians. After GNB, speed and briga-laden music became the vogue to the extent that to be true to one's self and to sing according to one's vocal capacity required a great deal of courage. MLV was then only 12 years old and made her debut by accompanying her mother. Two years later, MLV gave a solo recital in. She also cut her first 78 rpm disc which many music lovers of that period recall vividly because it created a sensation. From then on she progressed in geometrical progression as a platform artiste and by 1950 she had established herself as a front-ranker. A learned music critic has said that MLV brought the struggle of women in the world of music to a successful culmination. Her music had more male characteristics than that of any other female musician. Endowed with a fluid voice and rich imagination, the initials MLV could be an acronym for her Melody, Laya and Vidwat - the watchwords of her rare musical artistry that were an aural feast to both the lay and the cognoscenti. Her leisurely, explorative and adventurous manner of handling ragas deserves special mention. Similarly to GNB, she was a genius in her tricky, instantaneous brilliant manodharma. Indira Menon comments MLV did adopt her Guru's idea of a quick impressionistic sketch of the raga covering the two octaves at the start, but settled down to a reposeful elaboration, unfolding it gradually with her virtuosity in the form of BRIGA -CASCADES appearing only where necessary. She was careful not to carry to an excess what her versatile voice was capable of. MLV's mastery over vocal techniques was comprehensive and complete. She could effortlessly render several difficult ragas, with her alapana and kalpana swaras suitably embellished with shruthi-bheda. Her listeners had the same ecstatic experience when she sang and more particularly when in a lightning manner she shifted gracefully from the melodic world of one raga in one pitch to another raga in another pitch. In this context one has to refer to raga combinations like -, -Kamas, - to illustrate this point. She also popularised the composition 'Venkatachala Nilayam' by in the same raga. Hindustani maestro Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was generous in his praise for her music. But, to my great surprise, she would compose a Pallavi in the car on the way to the concert! Her first big hit was in the 1951 film Manamagal, where she sang the song Ellam Inbamayam in Ragamalika, and 's evergreen composition, Chinnanchiru Kiliyae. In the 1960 film Raja Desingu, MLV also sang another Ragamalika, Parkadal Alaimele, which was well received, and later became popular in recitals. In later years, MLV would also sing these song towards the end of her concerts, and today, many musicians often include them in their repertoire. MLV was also known for singing Ayya Sami in the 1951 film, Or Iravu. This song was based on the song Gore Gore from the film Samadhi, which was in turn based on the song Chico Chico from Puerto Rico, from the film Cuban Pete. In the 1952 film Thayullam, MLV sang Konjum Purave which was based on the famous song, Thandi Havayen. As one of the top ranking platform artistes, MLV was noted for her charm, grace, warmth, self-restraint and humility. Her self-restraint as an artiste can be understood from her own words: Brigas in fast tempo should adhere to the sruthi and above all, true music must touch the listener's heart. MLV however maintained a philosophy: A concert is a daily test of the calibre of a musician. A slight lapse may let the musician down and a constant vigil is essential. MLV helped others including Mannargudi Easwaran, Srimushnam Raja Rao, Seerkazhi J. Ramesh, Karaikudi Krishnamurthy, G. Harishankar kanjira and more, establishing them by encouraging them and giving them opportunities to accompany her in concerts. Some of the notable musicians who have studied under MLV include , , , , , Vanaja Narayanan, T. Prabhavathi, Meena Subramaniam, Jayanthi Sridharan, Jayanthi Mohan, Rose Muralikrishnan and Bama Visveswaran. She also taught music to children at the started by. In 1976, MLV was honoured with a doctorate degree from for her work with regards to Purandaradasa's contributions to music. In 1977, at age 49, MLV became the youngest woman to earn the award and title in , Sangita Kalanidhi. Tamil Songs Year Film Song Music Co-Singer 1948 1. ArArO nI ArArO 3. Thiruchi Loganathan 1950 1. Sudarsanam 1951 Manamagal 1. Gnanamani 1952 Thai Ullam 1. Thiruchi Loganathan 1953 Manithanum Mirugamum 1. Mothi 1953 Kangal inba vInaiyai mIttuthu 1954 Vairamalai 1. Thiruchi Loganathan 1954 1. Ganasaraswathi 1956 Kannin Manigal kaNNin maNiyE vA 1956 Kuladeivam 1. Anum peNNum vAzvilE R. Ganasaraswathi 1960 Parthiban Kanavu 1. Chalapathy Rao 1960 Petra Manam sindhanai seiyadA dialogues 1960 1.
