M.S. SUBBULAKSHMI : THE END OF AN ERA M. Jaya Singh* "Vaishnava jana to tene kahiye, jo pir parayi jane re (only they are religious – who understand the sufferings of others)", sung by MS Subbulakshmi, made Mahatma Gandhi all in tears. And in 1953, when she chanted bhakti melodies in a concert chaired by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru in aid of a charity in New Delhi, he quipped, "Though accustomed to public speaking, I find it not too easy to address on this occasion. Subbulakshmi’s music has a moving quality. Who am I, a mere prime minister before a queen of music". The list of her admirers are simply not restricted to the likes of Mahatma or Nehru, Lord Harewood or the UN General Assembly, but also the devotees at tiny village temples, tea shop audiences and rural households in the country as well. Though her renderings were within the confines of the highly grammatical tenets of carnatic music, she was able to sweep away even the laymen by the sincerity and the diversity of her emotions and the air of bhakti that she breathed into her songs. Such was the Nightingale of Indian classical music who enthralled her audience across the world for over seven decades with her soul stirring and crystal clear voice. It quite often used to take the listeners to the celestial world while increasing their urge to hear it more and more. But at a time when Music Festivals are at their peak in the mild winter of Chennai, the world of music was shattered with the news of her demise due to pneumonia on December 11, 2004, at the age of 88, creating a huge void in the domain of classical music. People from all walks of life gathered at her residence to pay homage to the doyen of music who rendered a divine appeal to so many songs. MS Subbulakshmi had inherited the musical legacy, as her mother Ms Shanmugavadivu was an acclaimed veena player and grandmother Akkammal a violinist. Though it was frugal existence for them, the family that stayed by the famous Meenakshi temple was very rich in music. The finesse of her musical traits were fine-tuned by such a galaxy of maestros of that time such as Semmangudi Sitarama Iyer, Madurai Srinivasa Iyengar, Aryakudi Ramanuja Iyengar and Mayavaram VV Krishna Iyer. All of them had been full of praise for her simplicity, ability and enthusiasm to learn with an unparalleled respect for her gurus and elders. At the tender age of ten, when her peers would roll up a piece of paper imitating as if singing over a microphone, MS Subbulakshmi, could cut her first disc with her mother on her side, for a leading gramaphone company of that time. In 1932 after acquiring fame at her hometown Madurai, where she mesmerized the listeners with her flawless renderings of musical pieces, her mother brought her to Madras (Chennai). At 17, she performed at the Mecca of Carnatic music festivals, the Music Academy, Chennai. The waxing and waning of the waves of her voice, in sync with the sense of the lyrics was so picture perfect that in 1968 the Music Academy, Chennai presented its coveted title ‘Sangeeta Kalanidhi’. Subbulakshmi was also one of the first musicians to introduce carnatic vocal music to western world. Her concerts became instant successes in the west.Her devotion to music led her to win many awards. To name a few - Ramon Magasaysay award in 1974, Spirit of Freedom award in 1988, the Indira Gandhi award for national integration in 1990and the highest civilian honour of India, the Bharat Ratna in 1998. She also bagged several other awards along the way like the " Isai Vani", "Padma Bhushan", "Padma Vibushan" and many others. MS Subbulakshmi’s husband Kalki Sadasivam always supported her. In fact, he was instrumental in shaping her post-marriage career. Such is her devotion to her husband that after his demise, she stopped stage performances. Mr. Sadasivam, a Gandhian and an ardent follower of Rajaji, was the founder of Kalki Tamil magazine along with his friend Shri Krishnamurthy. To mobilize funds for the launch of the magazine, the couple had organized concerts. And they have held similar concerts for public causes many times over. Her philanthropy is far reaching that an array of social service and cultural organizations including Mahatma Gandhi’s Kasturbha Memorial Fund, Ramakrishan Math, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Sankara Nethralaya, Subrahmanya Bharati Memorial were greatly benefited. Even the royalty income from her gramaphone recordings were given for the benefit of the society. A women of multifarious talents, she excelled in the celluloid world as well and the film ‘Meera’ took her to greater heights. Yet music and philanthrophy were close to her hearts always.M.S. Subbulakshmi is no more. Her passing away is the end of an era. None can fill up the void created by her demise. Yet, the songs she immortalized would always reverberate in the ears of both the elite as well as the laymen for long. Gulf Air Adds Colours to the Sky with New Ad Campaign First major campaign for a year features an 'all-star' cast of airline's own employees. Bahrain, Manama: Gulf Air's journey on the road to profitability in 2005 has been given a considerable kick-start with the launch of a major new advertising campaign. The multi-million dollar press and broadcast campaign will be led by a television commercial with a difference, with everyone featuring in it being a Gulf Air employee. James Hogan, President and CEO at Gulf Air, says the airline has introduced a wide range of innovative product and service enhancements over the last two years, but has not showcased them all, nor the new Gulf Air brand in a single, major campaign, for more than a year. "The Gulf Air of today is virtually unrecognisable from the Gulf Air of two years ago,' he said. "Since September, we have been running a campaign which highlighted why Gulf Air is 'Better for Business' based on four key pillars where the enhancements have been made, namely to our frequency, schedule and network, services on the ground, services in the air and the re-launched Frequent flyer programme. With the introduction of this new campaign for 2005, we incorporate these and other developments such as Gulf Air Holidays, in one corporate television commercial." Hogan adds that it is different for a number of reasons. "Firstly it focuses on people - the people who make Gulf Air different and secondly the talent which appears is that of the more than 30 Gulf Air staff who were recruited following a month-long search for local talent in a company-wide 'Be a Star' campaign, which attracted close to 500 applicants," he said. "The net result is that the stars of the airline are now the stars of our television commercial. They have helped transform Gulf Air over the last two years, and they will also carry it forwards. Therefore we felt that it was appropriate that they should promote the fact that this is an airline which is people focused." The television commercial, which has the strapline "Colour Your Sky", which was inspired by the colours of the flags of the airline's three owner states, will first air on 27 December, supported by a wide reaching Middle East press campaign. It will then roll-out to other key markets including Europe and Asia from January 2005. The campaign developed and produced by Fortune Promoseven in Bahrain, was shot in the region over three days in early December. It further reinforces Gulf Air's brand values: the cultural 'richness' of the region as well as 'genuine Arabian hospitality' while portraying the 'international' image of the airline. The result is a television commercial that celebrates the Gulf's vibrant colours, a fusion of heritage and modern reality all set against the colourful backdrop of the Gulf skies. Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO) commences Phase One construction December 27, 2004 Dubai Silicon Oasis (DSO), the world's premier purpose-built high-technology park for Microelectronics and Semiconductor research, development and production has announced that it has signed up with Arabtec, a contracting agency based in Dubai to commence construction of 560 Residential Villas inside DSO. The villas, which are part of the Phase One execution, are going to be constructed at the Southern part of the 700-hectare project located in Nad Al Shibba area of Dubai. The project is aimed to fulfill the residential requirements of the employees of companies within DSO and surrounding areas. Commenting on the residential villas project, Adel Ghafan, Director, Technical Department of Dubai Airport Free Zone (DAFZA) and DSO said, “To truly develop into an advanced integrated electronic technology park, DSO has to offer a full service proposition to its host companies. The residential district within DSO is a strategic initiative aimed at creating convenient living spaces for technologists and other employees working in DSO as well as surrounding areas, complete with all modern amenities to cater to their needs and help them lead a well-balanced lifestyle.” The residential complex, which is expected to be completed in the first half of 2006, will house excellent familial recreation and entertainment amenities, including a club house, that includes a multipurpose hall for family and community gatherings; a state of the art gymnasium; a swimming pool; mini shopping center and a play ground for children. DSO has also announced that its infrastructure design will be finalized by end of 2004, following which construction will commence in phases. The design for the DSO Headquarter Complex is in the final stages of completion and the Complex will be ready in the first half of 2006. Further to the higher management instructions, a revised study had been carried for the Building Regulation of DSO Sub-division plan to increase the heights of the buildings that fulfill the Urban Pattern of the land keeping the Floor Area Ratio the same as approved and to be as the following: From G + 6 Floors to G + 8 Floors From G + 8 Floors to G + 11 Floors From G + 10 Floors to G +14 Floors From G + 15 Floors to G + 25 Floors