On 2nd October 2016, the United Nations Postal Administration (UNPA) issued this stamp in commemoration of the performance by Mrs. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi at the UN General Assembly on 24th October 1966. As one of India’s most celebrated Carnatic singer Mrs. Madurai Shanmukhavadivu Subbulakshmi was invited to perform at the UN General Assembly by the, then, UN Secretary-General Mr. Maha Thray Sithu U Thant.

Mrs. Subbulakshmi and her husband, Mr. Kalki Sadasivam, were accompanied by five other musicians. Wearing a blue sari and adorned with garlands of flowers, she took to the stage to roaring applause.

She was introduced by Under Secretary-General Mr. Chakravarthi Vijayaraghava Narasimhan, the UN's then highest-ranking Indian official, and himself a scholar and connoisseur of Indian classical music as the "First Lady of Carnatic Music".

The hymn 'Maitreem Bhjata" was composed especially for the occasion, with lyrics provided by her spiritual mentor Mr. Acharya Sri Chandrashekharendra Saraswati. The hymn ends in a rousing call for universal friendship and world peace in Sanskrit: "Srey o bhooyat sakala jananam (Let grace and happiness abound for all mankind)".

The memory of the performance is commemorated by a series of stamps issued by the UNPA on the 50th anniversary of the performance. Carnatic vocalist Mrs. Sudha Ragunathan, herself one of the most celebrated living artists in the tradition, unveiled the stamps of Mrs. Subbulakshmi’s performance at the UN New York Headquarters, on the occasion of the International Day of Non-violence, 2nd October 2016.