A Grand
Daughter-in-law Remembers
Mala Chandrasekhar, Sruti Magazine Issue 244, Jan 2005
It was a pleasant evening on December
11th 1985 when my betrothal
ceremony with Chandrasekhar
took place. Until then I
never realised that I would
become MSS's grand
daughter-in- law. Once in
1982, I had the good fortune
of being blessed by her when
I received the first prize
for flute in an AIR music
competition. My relationship
with MS Patti was unique,
though I never addressed her
as Patti. I could not digest
calling her that for she was
like a mother to all of us.
For me, she has been my
mentor apart from my own
guru-s (the Sikkil Sisters).
I was very scared, or
rather nervous, playing the
flute before her (what a
test soon after my betrothal
function to play before her,
Semmangudi Mama and
others!). But gradually,
because of her kind words of
encouragement, I got over
the fear of making mistakes
in rendering any kriti or
raga. She used to correct me
in a very subtle manner.
As a human being, she was
very kind, simple and
humble. It was a great
delight to observe Patti,
Kadayanallur Venkataraman
Mama and Radha Amma (my
mother-in-law) practising,
learning new compositions
and preparing for cassette
recordings. How dedicated
she was in her pursuit of
professional excellence,
what a perfectionist!
I had the pleasure and
privilege of preparing and
serving her food- either
lunch or evening tiffin
depending on her practice
sessions. I had the
satisfaction of preparing
for her whatever menu she
relished (kothavaranga
paruppu usili, any dish made
of bitter gourd, vetha
kuzhambu, soft idlis and
dosas .... ). The highlight
was dosa chilli powder-
Thatha called it gun powder!
This was a must for her
whenever she had dosas or
idlis, with a tinge of ghee
and green chilli chutney.
She enjoyed the food and
liked the sambhar if it had
a little more "pulippu" than
usual. It was always a
pleasure to see her eat
because she had developed
that too as an art. She
would keep a small cup near
her plate to keep the
karuvepilai, chillies, and
drumstick peels. Her
aesthetic sense did not
permit her to discard them
in a corner of her plate or
on the table (an eyesore for
sure!). She enjoyed meeting
people and talking to them
in the hall till lunchtime.
Lunch was always simple.
Whatever she ate, the
quantity was measured. There
too she maintained
discipline. She enjoyed
sharing the food with their
numerous friends and
visitors. 'Stand idlis'
(idlis as big as dosas) of
Kalki Gardens fame was yet
another delight in the
family. MSS would carry food
while flying, to share it
with the flight crew and
others on the plane.
Whatever she did, was
done to the utmost
perfection, without her
being aware of it. As she
was extremely well organised
and disciplined, she made
sure on her concert day that
by 2.30 pm her saree,
blouse, her sparkling blue
jager diamond earrings and
other accessories were laid
out. After sometime she
would work on her hairdo,
taking a lot of care in
dressing up for the recital.
She never failed to do
akaara sadhakam before every
single concert to open up
her voice. She also spent a
lot of time with her two
tamburas to set the perfect
pitch.
At this juncture, I would
like to share an
unforgettable experience.
Once I went to drop Radha
Amma at Patti's residence
while they were getting
ready to leave for a
marriage reception concert
(it was their custom that
all of them, including the
accompanists, would leave
together for the venue from
her house). On my arrival
there I was very much moved
by the beautiful sound of
Patti's voice and the tuning
of the two tamburas -
Lakshmi and Saraswati. In
the drawing hall on one side
sat Patti surrounded by
Radha Amma, Gowri and
Kadayanallur Mama, with the
two tamburas and a sruti
box, practising akaara
sadhakam in raga
Sankarabharanam in three
speeds. Oh, what sruti
suddham and divine
vibration! Tears started
rolling down my cheeks and I
did not even realise that I
had to go home. I could not
bring myself to cut short
such a wonderful and
blissful experience. Finally
MSS said: "Neeyum
kutcherikku varayaa ~ (Are
you also coming to the
concert?). I said I was not
properly dressed for the
kutcheri. Immediately she
asked Visalam (her personal
assistant who was very dear
to her) to give me one of
Patti's sarees that would
match the blouse I was
wearing. She told me to use
her make-up stuff and she
made sure that I was also
seated on the concert
platform. To play the
tambura for her while she
sang was a great blessing
for me. On those many
occasions I got an
opportunity to observe and
understand the minute
nuances, the gamakas, the
modulation, the perfection
with which she rendered any
kriti or raga, her
swara-singing, the sense of
proportion, the dedication
and perfection, the bhakti
bhava (emotion) in each
song.
Patti and my
mother-in-law Radha Amma
were inseparable. They
treasured their
relationship. Patti was
devastated when Radha Amma
fell ill. When my
mother-in-Iaw's condition
improved, Patti would come
to our house everyday with
the sruti box and the
notebooks around 11 am so
that they could practise
together. Kadayanallur Mama
would also come for the
sessions to help them. I am
very fortunate to have been
present there and listened
to them and I have certainly
learnt a lot. Around 2 pm
Patti would have tiffin
insisting that the coffee be
brought along with the
eatables and not after.
Discipline and
punctuality are what I have
always associated with
Patti. I have never seen her
utter a harsh word to
anyone. Even her criticism
of my performances would be
gentle in nature. Just a
glance from her was enough
to tell me I had made a
mistake.
A typical day for MSS
Patti would start with
coffee and a bath followed
by an elaborate pooja and
singing of sloka-s for
almost an hour in a 'madi
pudavai'. She always had a
'well groomed' look with
sparkling teeth, clean short
straight nails, and well
combed hair. She even took
special care to keep the
soles of her feet free of
cracks. Her glowing features
would become more marked
with the beautiful kumkum
and vibhooti which she
meticulously applied on her
forehead. Patti loved the
fragrance of jasmine and in
those days would wear a
'veni' everyday. In case
jasmine was not available,
her only other choice was
roses- with "marugu"- all
threaded like a 'veni' with
every single flower in
place.
She loved perfume, but
would not spray it on
herself. She preferred to
sprinkle a few drops of it
on her extremely clean
handkerchief that she held
in her hand during the
concert. Soon after
returning home from a
kutcheri, MSS would
immediately remove her
special earrings and place
them it their box adding a
dash of perfume to it. She
used only three hairpins-
they would be stored away
for the next use. Even in
those days, she never
retired to bed without
brushing her teeth.
Patti loved silk sarees
and also thick cotton sarees
with border. Muthu Chettiar
wove a special blue for her
which became very popular as
'MS Blue'. She loved that
colour.
Another fact about MSS is
that she did not wear
spectacles during her
concerts, This was suggested
by Thatha as he felt it
could distract her attention
while singing. She always
sang the songs as listed by
Thatha. Some of her other
interests were stringing
flowers, drawing kolams with
rice flour and listening to
the radio. After a simple
meal at night she would
relax as she listened to
some music on her tiny
pocket radio. According to
Radha Amma, both Thatha and
Patti were fond of plants
and maintained a lovely
garden at Kalki Gardens. In
fact, a hibiscus variety
with very light pink flowers
grown there was named after
MS. Patti loved children,
dogs and other animals too.
Of course she loved all
human beings. She touched
millions of people with her
music, her character and her
abundant love.
It is indeed a strange
coincidence that my close
association with her began
and ended on the same
date-11th December. It
commenced on the day of my
betrothal in 1985 and ended
on the same date in December
2004 when she passed away.
But her divine music will
continue to be a source of
perennial inspiration.
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