She Sang for India: How M.S. Subbulakshmi Used Her Voice for Change

by Suma Subramaniam, Shreya Gupta (Illustrator)

Overview

A picture book biography about M.S. Subbulakshmi, a powerful Indian singer who advocated for justice and peace through song.

Before M.S. Subbulakshmi was a famous Carnatic singer and the first Indian woman to perform at the United Nations, she was a young girl with a prodigious voice.

But Subbulakshmi was not free to sing everywhere. In early 1900s India, girls were not allowed to perform for the public. So Subbulakshmi busted barriers to sing at small festivals. Eventually, she broke tradition to record her first album. She did not stop here. At Gandhi's request, Subbulakshmi sang for India’s freedom. Her fascinating odyssey stretched across borders, and soon she was no longer just a young prodigy. She was a woman who changed the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374388744
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	11/08/2022
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD740L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Suma Subramaniam is an Indian American author and volunteer for We Need Diverse Books. She is a contributing author for The Hero Next Door (Penguin Random House) and the author of Namaste Is A Greeting (Candlewick). She has an MFA in Writing from Vermont College Of Fine Arts. She Sang For India is her nonfiction picture book debut.

Shreya Gupta is an illustrator and book designer. She is originally from India, but her passion for illustration brought her to the United States, where she pursued an MFA in Illustration as Visual Essay from the School of Visual Arts. Her work has been featured as a “Google Doodle” logo, in the New York Times, Asia Society magazine and in various major publications. She also illustrated a 150th anniversary edition of Little Women for Little, Brown. She currently lives in New York, NY.

Editorial Reviews

10/03/2022

Framing the life of M.S. Subbulakshmi (1916–2004) as a triumph of artistic activism, Subramaniam’s accessible, artful biography of the Indian Carnatic singer invites readers to find “your own power and voice.” Despite early 20th-century prohibitions against female performers in India, Subbulakshmi begins pursuing a career in Carnatic music at a young age. Eventually pushing through extensive gender barriers, Subbulakshmi is viewed as an international icon when she joins her voice with Mahatma Gandhi’s, singing for peace in the effort for India’s independence. Text focuses Subbulakshmi’s fight against colonialism and sexism; complementing the hopeful tone, Gupta illustrates with a warm palette, representing musical sounds with floral star shapes—a tie-in to the jasmine flowers the figure famously wore in her hair during performances. Back matter includes an author’s note and timeline. Ages 4–8. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

2023 New York Public Library Vibrant Voices Book

"This true story will fascinate and charm children who will wonder that the simple act of a girl singing is not permitted. The author does not gloss over the hardships...A wonderful biography for every collection." –School Library Journal

"A lyrical commemoration of the power and legacy of a renowned South Indian activist and performer."

–Kirkus

From the Publisher

10/01/2022

K-Gr 3—Kunja Subbulakshmi sings with her grandmother, mother, and sister as they play the violin, tambura, and veena. Her brother plays a mridangam. Her instrument is her voice, and this takes place at home, for in early-1900s India, she is not allowed to sing in public. So Subbulakshmi breaks some rules to perform at small festivals. Then she makes an album. It takes time and persistence for her to break down barriers, until the day when an illustrious academy that had rejected her finally allows her to perform. History is truly made when Ghandi asks that she sing for India's freedom. This true story will fascinate and charm children who will wonder that the simple act of a girl singing is not permitted. The author does not gloss over the hardships. The illustrations with colorful backdrops and historical details show scene after scene of Subbulakshmi in a closed-eye, beatific state of singing; these are very moving at first though do become repetitive. In a very few pages the book covers India's tumultuous and sorrowful path to independence, a bittersweet depiction that may launch discussion of the costs of freedom. Back matter includes information about Carnatic music, a glossary, time line, and bibliography. VERDICT A wonderful biography for every collection.—Kimberly Olson Fakih

School Library Journal

2022-07-13
A lyrical commemoration of the power and legacy of a renowned South Indian activist and performer.

Readers who know little about M.S. Subbulakshmi’s Carnatic music or traditional Indian instruments will come away none the wiser, but the general storyline of a gifted singer who goes from “small-town devadasi girl” to international fame by performing and persisting until barriers of gender prejudice fall away is easy enough to follow and applaud. Aside from identifying Subbulakshmi as the first woman and youngest person ever to perform at the Madras Music Academy and ending with her 1966 performance before the United Nations, Subranamiam largely skips past seven decades of biographical and career highlights (never mentioning her film work, for instance, except in the backmatter). What stands out instead are tributes to her spirit and the spiritual power of her singing in support of India’s independence movement and through the heartbreaks of the new country’s religious division and Gandhi’s assassination. Capped by a beautiful portrait composed of flowers and musical instruments, Gupta’s harmonious illustrations follow Subbulakshmi from intimate childhood family concerts to larger stages. The closing notes and definitions are cursory at best, but along with an eloquent summation at the end, the author tucks in snatches of lyrics in Tamil, Hindi, and Sanskrit (as script, transliterations, and English translations) throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A loving invitation to read, and hear, more. (timeline, bibliography) (Picture-book biography. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews