MS Subbulakshmi mesmerised everyone from Mahatma Gandhi to common man: Naidu

New Delhi, Sep 19: Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today described Dr MS Subbulakshmi as a legendary and iconic figure who 'mesmerised everyone from Mahatma Gandhi to the common man.' Her music was immortal and everyone in the country was influenced and thrilled by her music, Mr Naidu said and noted that music acquired a divine dimension when she lent her voice to various compositions. Addressing the gathering at an event to inaugurate an exhibition on Dr Subbulakshmi and release a commemorative coin on her birth centenary commemoration here, he noted that she was the first musician to be awarded Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian honour and first Indian musician to have performed at the United Nations General Assembly. India was a land of rich cultural heritage with music in diverse genres representing the truly myriad mosaic of plurality, he said, adding that 'what defines India is this rich heritage of music and its unifying role in bringing people together cutting across religions, regions, castes and communities.' The Vice President said the roots of Indian music could be traced to Vedic literature, Sama Veda in particular and as such every note and cadence associated with India's ancient music systems needed to be preserved and propagated. 'This is our bounden duty to see such cultural heritage is preserved which is given to us by our forefathers and pass it on to the next generation,' he further said. Minister of State for Culture (independent charge) and Environment, Forest & Climate Change Mahesh Sharma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion, an official release here said. UNI