Who Was the First Musician to Receive the Bharat Ratna Award?

Who Was the First Musician to Receive the Bharat Ratna Award?

M.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to receive the Bharat Ratna Award. She got this honour in 1998, becoming the first singer in India to win the country's highest civilian award.

Key Takeaways

• As per the PIB, M.S. Subbulakshmi was the first musician to win the Bharat Ratna, in 1998.

• She received it from President K.R. Narayanan at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 14 January 1998.

• Before the Bharat Ratna, she had already won the Padma Bhushan (1954) and the Padma Vibhushan (1975).

• She was the first Indian to perform at the United Nations General Assembly, in 1966.

• She was the first Indian musician to win the Ramon Magsaysay Award, in 1974.

• After her, musicians like Ravi Shankar, Bismillah Khan, Lata Mangeshkar and Bhimsen Joshi also went on to receive the Bharat Ratna.

Who Was M.S. Subbulakshmi?

Source: Gaana

M.S. Subbulakshmi was born on 16 September 1916 in Madurai. People who loved her also called her "MS Amma." She started singing at a very young age and gave her first public performance when she was just eleven years old.

She became one of the most respected Carnatic singers in India. Her voice was so pure and clear that even Mahatma Gandhi praised it. It is said that Gandhi once chose to hear her sing a line rather than hear anyone else sing the same song.

She also acted in old Tamil films during the 1930s and 1940s. She played the role of Meera and also Shakuntala on screen. But singing remained her true passion throughout her life.

When Did She Receive the Bharat Ratna?

M.S. Subbulakshmi received the Bharat Ratna on 14 January 1998. The award was given to her by the then President of India, Dr. K.R. Narayanan, at a function held in Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. This made her the first musician in Indian history to win this top award.

The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian honour. It is given to people who have done outstanding work in any field, like science, art, public service, or sports.

#Fearlessfemales - The firsts!
M. S. Subbulakshmi-First ever musician to receive Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 1954 & first Indian musician to receive Raman Magsaysay award. A carnatic singer from Madurai, she is called 'Nightingale' of Carnatic music #IWD2020 pic.twitter.com/OSAhyd2U5H

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About Bharat Ratna

The Bharat Ratna was instituted on 2 January 1954. It is recommended by the Prime Minister to the President, and there's no formal application process for it. Not more than three awards can be given in a single year, and the award holder ranks seventh in India's order of precedence, the same level as Cabinet Ministers. 

Originally it covered only arts, literature, science and public service, but in 2011 the scope was widened to "any field of human endeavour," which is how athletes like Sachin Tendulkar later became eligible too.

Why Did She Get This Honour?

M.S. Subbulakshmi was chosen for many reasons. Here are some of her biggest achievements.

At the United Nations, she sang a famous prayer for world peace called "Maithreem Bhajatha." This song was written by the spiritual leader Chandrasekharendra Saraswati of Kanchi. People from many countries listened to her sing that day.

She was also known for singing devotional songs like Bhaja Govindam, Vishnu Sahasranamam, and Venkateswara Suprabhatam. Her version of Suprabhatam is still played every morning at the Tirumala temple as part of daily prayers.

People gave her many loving titles. The poet Sarojini Naidu called her the "Nightingale of India." Singer Lata Mangeshkar called her "Tapaswini," which means a person who lives a life of devotion. Famous singer Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan called her "Suswaralakshmi," which means the goddess of sweet music.

List of Bharat Ratna Awardees For Music

After M.S. Subbulakshmi, several other great musicians from India also received the Bharat Ratna. Here is the list.

This list itself is a common exam question, so it helps to remember the order: Subbulakshmi first, then Ravi Shankar a year later, then Bismillah Khan and Lata Mangeshkar together in 2001, and Bhimsen Joshi last, in 2008.

Her Full List of Honours

M.S. Subbulakshmi didn't receive the Bharat Ratna out of nowhere. By the time it came, she already had a long shelf of national awards behind her.

Notice that she won the Padma Bhushan in 1954 and the Padma Vibhushan in 1975, more than two decades before the Bharat Ratna. This sequence (Padma Bhushan, then Padma Vibhushan, then Bharat Ratna) is a fact that shows up often in GK quizzes, so it's worth holding on to.

Her Family and Legacy

M.S. Subbulakshmi's husband, T. Sadasivam, played a big role in shaping her music career. Her daughter, Radha Viswanathan, sang along with her on stage for almost 55 years. Even today, her great-granddaughters, Aishwarya and Saundarya, carry forward her musical tradition.

She also did a lot of charity work. She gave more than 200 charity concerts in her lifetime and donated the money she earned from her devotional albums to the Tirumala temple.

She passed away on 11 December 2004, but her songs are still played in homes across South India every single morning.