Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was a renowned Carnatic vocalist. She was the first musician ever to be awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honor.
She was born on September 16, 1916, in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu to Shanmukhavadivu, Veena Vidwan and Subramania Iyer, a lawyer.