Who’s who in Indian classical music Muttuswami Dikshitar

Muttuswami Dikshitar (1775-1835)
Born on 24 March 1775 at Tiruvarur to
Ramaswami Dikshitar and Subbamma, was the youngest of the three great composers
hailing from his home town who went on to be celebrated as the Trinity of
Carnatic music.
Named after the temple deity, Muttukumaraswamy of the Vaitheeswaran temple,
Dikshitar had two younger brothers Baluswami and Chinnaswami and a sister
Balambal.
Belonging to the priestly Dikshitar tradition, Muthuswami learnt Sanskrit, the
Vedas, and other religious texts, and music from his father, who was an
accomplished musician and composer, besides discharging administrative duties
at the Tiruvarur temple.
While he was still in his teens, Muttuswami’s father sent him on a pilgrimage
with Chidambaranatha Yogi, a wandering yogi, to learn both music and
philosophy. The duo visited many places in north India before settling down for
a long stay at Kasi. Dikshitar’s eclectic sweep of thought as reflected in his
grand compositions was a result of the north Indian sojourn.
His five years at Kasi exposed Dikshitar to dhrupad, India’s ancient form of
classical music. Many of his slow songs known for their grandeur and relatively
straight notes show a remarkable resemblance to the dhrupad tradition.
A Srividya upasaka, or follower of the cult of devi worship, Dikshitar was a
deeply religious person and mystic, who visited several temples and composed
songs in praise of the deities there in a spontaneous expression of his
devotion. Thus most of his compositions are marked by a deep sense of reverence
and calm. Trained in veena playing, he developed a combination of the vocal and
instrumental styles in his compositions—around 500 in number—marked by rich gamaka,
a majestic gait, and a general preference for the chauka kala. He employed the
signature Guruguha.
Muttuswami Dikshitar taught the four dance masters from Tanjavur who came to be
known as the Tanjore Quartet. Dikshitar passed on to them the 72-mela-raga
tradition of Venkatamakhi, which (unlike Tyagaraja), he followed. Sivanandam,
Ponnayya, Chinnayya and Vadivelu were the star foursome who spread the
Muttuswami Dikshitar legacy all over the south.
Evidently fond of Mayamalavagaula, Dikshitar composed several songs in such
ragas. and ragas derived from it. Many of his songs were in Sanskrit, and were
of the samashti charana variety, opening with a pallavi, eschewing the middle
section or anupallavi, and ending in the samashti charana section. His songs
can be divided into several groups, with the major Guruguha group including
such sections as the Kamalamba Navavarna kritis and Navagraha kritis. He
composed as many as 26 songs in praise of Vinayaka or Ganapati.
During his travels, Muttuswami Dikshitar was fascinated by the music of the
British military band, which he heard at Madras, and inspired by them he
created some 40 songs, of which 36 have survived as nottu swara sahitya. Some
of the songs are set to familiar English numbers like God Save the King, but
are odes to Hindu deities, including Saraswati, the goddess of learning. Some
of these songs are taught as early lessons to students of Carnatic music.
Baluswami Dikshitar is credited with adapting the violin to Carnatic music,
which was further popularised by Vadivelu. The descendants of Baluswami
Dikshitar are said to be responsible for keeping alive the Dikshitar sishya
parampara.
By V Ramnarayan
Posted by Sruti Magazine July 28, 2012