Come September and Chennai suddenly woke up to activities centering around “MBS” – articles about him were featured in mainstream media, and programmes were organised in his memory. MB Srinivasan (popularly known as MBS) – a man whose memory and contributions had remained in the background for several decades in Tamil Nadu, deservedly zoomed into the limelight on the occasion of his birth centenary.
The Madras Youth Choir established by him in 1971, and renamed in his memory as the Madras MBS Choir (MMC) in 2024, organized a befitting tribute of choral music on September 20, 2025 at the Dakshinamurthy Hall in Chennai. Besides several renditions by the MMC, it was heartwarming to watch the children of Saraswathy Vidyalaya Choir, Arcadia NIOS Choir and the Junior Madras MBS Choir sing with gusto. The chief guest VS Narasimhan, who had been a close associate, spoke about the contributions of MBS. For the guest of honour, musician and composer Dr. Rajkumar Bharathi it was a homecoming and he took the audience on a humorous flashback to the days when he was a member of the choir under the baton of MBS.
Talking later to Madras Musings, he recalled that “MBS was a great devotee of my great-grandfather Subramania Bharathi. He was progressive in his outlook, upright, honest and courteous, though he could be brutally frank if he felt something was unethical. Though as a teacher he was a strict disciplinarian, he was kind hearted and cheerful, very fond of his family and his students. He was indeed the father of Indian choral music. His ‘bhasha gnanam (knowledge of languages) was phenomenal! His music compositions brim with bhava.”
The MBS Youth Choir at an event.
Famous Carnatic vocalist Sudha Ragunathan pays a glowing tribute: “A stickler for time and discipline, MB Srinivasan sir was an epitome of perfection. I had a good five years working with him and was always amazed at his penchant for ‘newness’ of sound! His music carried the pulse of the people, the cry of justice and the tenderness of hope and dreams. Through his choirs, he proved that voices united in harmony could be stronger than any slogan, more enduring and effective than any speech. He gave music a conscience and in every note that he wrote, there was courage, compassion and the dream of a ‘better world’! I cherish my memories with MBS sir to date.”
Manamadurai Balakrishnan Srinivasan was born on September 19, 1925 at Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh. The family was steeped in music and social service which had a deep impact on the young lad. He had his schooling at PS High School, Chennai. He was also deeply influenced by his paternal uncle, M.R. Venkataraman, a hard core communist leader. While studying in Madras Presidency College, MBS became a student leader and joined the Communist movement. Fond of reading books and deeply interested in music, MBS was inspired by the songs of Bharatiar sung at public gatherings during India’s freedom movement and realized the power of collective music to ignite the minds of the masses.
After India gained Independence, MBS served as private secretary to A.K. Gopalan who was India’s first Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. His sojourn in New Delhi broadened his horizons as he learnt Hindustani and Western classical music. He also got a taste of India’s diverse musical traditions. It was there that MBS fell in love and married Zahida Kitchlew (daughter of freedom fighter Saifuddin Kitchlew) who remained his guiding spirit.
The Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) which propagated the concept of jana sangeet (people’s music) had a great influence on MBS. It was at IPTA that MBS met the cinematographer and filmmaker Nemai Ghosh. Their first film, Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar released in 1960 with songs set to music by MBS such as Thennankeetru oonjalile, Chinnachinna mookutthiyaam, and Unmai oru naal veliyaagum, introducing a novel soundscape to Tamil cinema. The Cine Musicians’ Union, the first trade union for film workers in south India was also founded by the duo. As a result of MBS’s activism, workers in the cine field got motivated to rally together to protest against undue exploitation.
MBS played a major role in securing labour rights for cine musicians, fighting for fair wages and regular hours. As Chairman of Indian Performing Rights Society (IPRS) for several years, he strove to protect the rights of music composers, lyricists and provide royalties to them. This apparently did not go down well with the powers in the Tamil film industry which seemed to have sidelined him. This was pointed out by many speakers who paid tribute to MBS at the centenary celebrations organized on October 11 by the Tamil Nadu Murpokku Ezhutthalar Kalaignargal Sangam.
All this did not deter MBS from his ideals, and he soon moved to Malayalam cinema which welcomed him. There he collaborated with famous filmmakers like KG George, Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and well known lyricists. It was MBS who gave a memorable break to one of India’s finest voices, K.J. Yesudass. He collaborated with several top singers like S. Janaki and P. Jayachandran, which won them awards. He wrote the lyrics for Usha Uthup’s movie hit Peethambara O Krishna. His first film song was composed to the words of noted Tamil lyricist, Jayakanthan, for the Tamil film Paadhai Theriyudhu Paar. MBS introduced a novel idiom in film music in the songs that he tuned as well as in the background score. Though MBS had no interest in acting and had turned down several roles, his love for parallel cinema made him accept the lead role of eccentric professor in John Abraham’s Agraharathil Kazhuthai.
It is a well known fact that star playback singer SP Balasubrahmanyam paid rich encomiums to MBS and his contributions declaring: “If we receive spot payments for the songs we record today and sleep peacefully at night, it is because of MB Srinivasan. If senior musicians eat well today, it is because of him. I feel a deep duty to thank him.”
Rightfully so, an auditorium in Madras was later named after him as the MBS Memorial Hall. He was one of the founders of FEFSI (Film Employees Federation of South India). He was nominated by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to the Advisory Committee of NCERT – the National Council of Educational Research and Training.
While his work in films was significant, Srinivasan’s true legacy lies in his pioneering efforts in choral music. In 1970, MBS along with Vasanthi Devi, then Vice Chancellor of Manonmaniam University, KS Subramanian, and wife Zahida Srinivasan, began a youth choral group for a programme on All India Radio (AIR) under the banner Bharathi Ilangnar Isai Kuzhu, and its radio show, Ilaya Bharatham, was well received. This led to his forming the Madras Youth Choir in 1971 and as the composer-director, he trained people to sing songs on peace, love and patriotism. He took the songs penned by national poets like Subramania Bharathi, Mohd. Iqbal, KCS Arunachalam, Rabindranath Tagore, to name a few and set them to music. He then choralised the compositions, which became popular among the public, especially the youth. He was Director of AIR Choral Group, Chennai, for eight years. It evolved into the Madras Youth Choir, which was formally registered in 1973.
Secretary of the Choir, S. Ram informs that “MBS composed over 200 choral compositions based on Indian classical and folk melodies, infusing elements of Western harmony into Indian music. His riveting compositions include Bharathiar’s Vasana Kavithai Mazhai in a six-part choral arrangement, Bharathidasan’s Amma Unthan Kai Valaiyai, Tamilanban’s Bhagat Singh, and the Telugu poet Dasarathi’s Pillalaara which became a household song in the late 1970s and 80s. In 1986, he helped to set up the Kerala University Choir.”
MBS won several awards including the FIE Award for Creative Excellence in Choral Music, the Central Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Creative/Experimental Music and Kerala State Film Awards for Best Music Director. The Malayalam films for which he composed the music – Nirmalyam, Swayamvaram, Prayanam, Swathi Thirunal, and Utharayan won National Awards. MBS conducted mass singing with nearly 6,000 children in various towns in Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka.
MBS, was more than a music director; he was a visionary who believed in the power of music as a tool for social change – “makkal isai, sernthu isai”. His inspiring call “Come, let’s sing together,” focussed on youth and collective singing which reflected his belief that music could shape a better society. He strongly believed in collective human values. The themes of his songs in over a dozen languages focus on national integration, unity, peace, environment, women empowerment, human and social values.
MBS felt that the human voice was one of the best means of communication, everyone can sing and that the true purpose of music should be to bring people together through Indian choral music — adapting Western choral techniques and combining classical ragas and folk rhythms to touch an emotional chord. He believed in the democratization of music, inclusivity, and collective excellence.
On March 9, 1988, MBS who was only 63, died of a heart attack in Lakshadweep where he had gone to conduct a choral singing workshop for music instructors under the aegis of the National Council for Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
There are many veteran members in the Madras MBS Choir like D. Ramachandran, its Artistic Director, its President PC Ramakrishna, founder member M. Kumaresan, KR Parthasarathy, its treasurer, the sisters Latha Unnikrishnan and Malathi Ravinath who are senior instructors, and Padma Srinivasan and Rajashree Bhaskaran who teach choir music to children. All of them become emotional while talking about MBS sir and describe him as a Guru – an excellent teacher, a kind hearted father figure who often helped them in need, and a principled man who led by example.
His music resonates across different age groups. Preethi Sriram, one of the younger instructors, says the music composed by MBS is very inspiring because every song is unique and provides a different experience to savour which she has been doing travelling about 20 kilometres every Sunday to choir class since 1998!
Gayathree Krishna who has been with the Choir for 24 years says: “Having grown up with songs composed by MBS, I am continually amazed by his clarity, creativity, and vision. His compositions do not carry religious overtones; instead, they explore the true meaning and emotion behind each lyric, communicating the song’s intention with directness and grace. MBS’s musical intellect and sensitivity are evident in every line.”
MBS celebrated the little joys of life through songs on cleanliness, trees, nature, birds and animals. He composed songs on everyday values – Kalaiye Ezhunthiru encouraging daily discipline, and Ayyavukku Salute Podra Rama, using the chained monkey as a striking metaphor for life’s realities. His delightful tongue twisters are playful, poetic and packed with wit – to help children learn the nuances of the Tamil language. His songs for children should become part of the curriculum in schools across Tamil Nadu.
A Tamil biography titled Makkalisai Medhai MB Srinivasan by Mu. Iqbal Ahmed (published by Parisal Putthaga Nilayam), with rare photographs and recollections by MBS’ contemporaries, associates and students, has been brought out to mark MBS’s centenary. A must read to know more about MBS – the man who charted new paths in Indian music.