A magician, an illusionist, a shifter of perspectives. Few critics, musicians and rasikas have held back their praise for the genius of Muthusvami Dikshitar. On the occasion of the composer’s 250th birth anniversary, being commemorated at NCPA HSBC Bandish in a concert by T. M. Krishna, we consider what it means for a repertoire to thrive for over two centuries.  

By Lakshmi Sreeram

Muthusvami Dikshitar was an 18th-century vaggeyakara whose musical work, carried through the guru-shishya parampara as well as textual documentation, is astonishing for its complexity and beauty. This month, the NCPA celebrates his 250th birth anniversary with a concert by T. M. Krishna as part of Bandish, its annual festival that celebrates legendary composers.

The vaggeyakara is an exalted figure—someone who breathes out words and music in a single act of inspiration. In some cases, given the intricacies and complexities of the composition, this might seem unlikely; nevertheless, it is central to the musical ethos to believe that the creation of text and tune was spontaneous and simultaneous, with little contrivance. Dikshitar is venerated as one of the trinity or mummurthy of Carnatic music, along with Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri. There were numerous composers before, during and after their time, but cultural and historical developments and engineering have clubbed these three men and accorded them a privileged, canonical position in the world of Carnatic music. Few would argue that this position is undeserved.

Arguably, the compositional form of the kriti attained its most expressive potential in the hands of the trinity. The kriti, which typically has three unequal segments—pallavi, anupallavi and charanam—is asymmetric in form and offers the challenge of bringing unity to the form. The three composers achieved this in slightly different ways. Certainly, Dikshitar played with the form of the kriti more than the other two did.

The trinity brought different musical backgrounds and sensibilities, as well as literary proclivities, and positioned themselves at different points on the Bhakti spectrum. Between them, they defined a vast aesthetic and technical domain for the kriti to flower in. While all three display a strong commitment to the musical tradition or sampradaya, even a superficial glance at their oeuvre points to an adventurous engagement with music, and perhaps, none more than Dikshitar.

From many accounts, we gather that Dikshitar travelled extensively; he had a life-defining stint at Banaras with his guru, a yogi named Chidambaranatha, who initiated him into the worship of Sri Vidya. Here, Dikshitar was exposed to Hindustani music. Compositions in ragas like Yamuna (Yamuna Kalyani), Dwijavanti (Jaijaiwanti), Ramakali, Hamir Kalyani, etc. speak of the influence of Hindustani music on his compositions. But a more pervasive impact can be discerned in the texture, gait and feel of his compositions. Also well-documented is his stint in Manali, a small town on the outskirts of Chennai, where he heard band music with simple, arresting tunes. Intriguingly, he cast esoteric tantric songs of worship in these tunes in what has come to be called nottuswara sahityam. As T. M. Krishna says: “It is obvious that Dikshitar believed very strongly in his musical ancestry and wanted that encapsulated in his compositions. At the same time, he was not stuck in the past and constantly experimented and challenged norms.”

In one of his compositions, Dikshitar refers to himself as a vainika gaayaka (player of the veena and singer), while Tyagaraja speaks of his songs as bhajana: congregational singing was an important aspect of Tyagaraja’s life. This tiny detail is the key to two different musical aesthetics. Bhajana is more rhythmically explicit and faster, and is easier to relate to, whereas the veena lends itself not to speed but to stately music with more gravitas. Krishna observes: “Muthusvami Dikshitar’s music opens a vista that is entirely new and independent of all his musical contemporaries. Twentieth-century Carnatic music has been aesthetically shaped largely by the music of Tyagaraja, and learning Dikshitar’s compositions shifts a musician’s perspective in all respects, including compositional structure, raga form, movement, textual distribution, prosody and laya overlays.”

Beyond the musical aspect, Dikshitar’s compositions glow with his love for the unique possibilities of the Sanskrit language and incorporate a wide range of musical and literary devices, espouse the spiritual and religious tenets of the Tantric/Advaitic Sri Vidya upasana (worship), describe agamic traditions of worship and sacred lores of temples (sthala puranam). If there was a composer who sought to pack in as much as was possible into his compositions, it was Dikshitar. And all the while, he maintained a musicality of the highest order.

Tyagarajayogavaibhavam sadAshrayAmi
Tyagarajayogavaibhavam
Agarajayogavaibhavam
Rajayogavaibhavam
Yogavaibhavam
Vaibhavam
Bhavam
Vam.

This is the pallavi or the first part of Dikshitar’s magnificent composition in the Ragam Ananda Bhairavi, and employs a prosodic device called the gopuccha yati. ‘Go-puccha’ means the tail of a cow. The pattern resembles a cow’s tail for the steadily decreasing syllabic length of phrases. As if this were not a feat enough, he incorporates a reverse rhythmic pattern in its second segment—the srotovaaha yati, with increasing syllabic lengths of the phrases. Our vaggeyakara set himself multiple challenges such as this.

Tyagaraja is the presiding deity of the grand temple in the town of Thiruvarur, where Dikshitar (as well as Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri) were born. Some of Dikshitar’s great compositions are about the deities in the Thiruvarur temple, including the celebrated Navaavarana vibhakti kritis (songs about the nine sheaths to be removed in the spiritual journey) addressed to Kamalamba, a yogini who sits in deep meditation of the Lord.

Dikshitar was a master of praasha, or alliteration. ‘Meenalochani paashamochani maanini, kadambavanavaasini, meenaakshi me mudam dehi’ is an iconic line in a ravishingly beautiful composition in the Ragam Gamakakriya. The soft, insistent iteration of the “ma” and “na” is achieved throughout the song so masterfully clothed in music that it is no longer a mere technicality. Legend has it that Dikshitar had his disciples sing this composition as he lay dying, and he left the world as they were singing this line, which extols Her as one who renders bonds asunder (pasha mochani).

In other features of his compositions, Dikshitar almost always included a madhyamakala passage, sung at twice the speed as the rest of the composition. He wove in the name of the raga into his compositions and often in very clever and meaningful ways, again exploiting the possibilities of compound words in the Sanskrit language. His signature was Guruguha, after the deity whose grace is said to have resulted in his birth.

Dikshitar taught several people, mostly professional musicians and dancers, who propagated his compositions through the guru-shishya parampara. Significantly, another source of these compositions is the magnum opus, the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini (SSP), which includes painstakingly notated compositions. The SSP is an important source of Dikshitar’s compositions but is itself based on the guru-shishya system since the author, Subbarama Dikshitar, received it that way from his father and uncles: Dikshitar was his great-uncle. Often, its version of compositions is at variance with oral recensions, which has led to considerable tumult in the world of Carnatic music.

Krishna points out: “Performance pressures, musical inclinations and the whims and fancies of musicians at times result in changes (in the received version).” This places greater responsibility on the gurus, since the guru-shishya way is still the primary way of teaching and learning this music.

The SSP may be compared to Kramik Pustak Malika of Vishnu Narayan Bhatkhande in some respects, for both bestowed upon the musical world a wealth of compositions that otherwise might have gone with the winds of modernisation. The SSP, however, is a more intricate and tedious undertaking, for its author devised an extensive notation to convey the gamakas or various ornamentations that characterise Carnatic music.

Krishna observes: “It is important to understand the SSP as a descriptive archive of Carnatic music’s oral practice and musicological traditions. The question is whether the notation, or for that matter any notation, can capture Carnatic music with all its melodic nuances. I have to say that Subbarama Dikshitar’s notation is extraordinary because he took every effort to communicate each gamaka as he understood it, through a descriptive notation system that he had devised. He also provided serious music students with explanations and examples for guidance.”

Listening to or singing a Dikshitar composition can leave one in awe of what he achieved in sheer intensity and ambition. Some call him a magician. “Dikshitar was an illusionist who used raga, laya, text and syllables to alter the aesthetic experience of space and time,” says Krishna.

Beyond the magnificent compositions he has left behind, Dikshitar’s legacy is a unique musical temperament that was as forward-looking and broadminded as it was grounded in tradition.

T. M. Krishna will present kirtana, ragamalika and nottusvara-sahitya composed by Muthusvami Dikshitar on 2nd August at the Tata Theatre. For further reading on Dikshitar’s formative years, please refer to the Archives section in this issue.

Lakshmi Sreeram is a musician and teaches at the Ahmedabad University.

Bandish: ­ The Core of Indian Music
Music performance in any culture across ages, whether traditional, popular or contemporary, seems to stem from a pre-composed entity or composition that we commonly label as “song”. Music traditions in India too are no exception. In fact, North Indian art (classical)/Hindustani music and its counterpart in the South, Carnatic music, lay special emphasis on a well-structured composition (bandish), which forms the basis for music-making. Thanks to the creative genius of composers across several centuries, we have a treasure of compositions covering diverse genres in a variety of languages prevalent across India.

The Bandish festival of the NCPA seeks to present and document this diverse compositional repertoire of the country. This year, the range of this repertoire is remarkable and includes the works of Carnatic composer extraordinaire, Muthusvami Dikshitar, legendary gurus of the Banaras gharana, Bade Ramdas, Chote Ramdas and Nanak Prasad Mishra, the beloved Jitendra Abhisheki, and R. D. Burman, the wizard of rhythm and pulse.

The cover story expounds on the enduring legacy of Dikshitar, the youngest of the Carnatic music trinity. Here, we present a glimpse of the musical prowess of the other legendary composers being celebrated at the three-day festival, through explanatory notes written by Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Programming Head-Indian Music & Research Scientist, NCPA.

Jitendra Abhisheki
With his multidimensional personality as an eminent vocalist, composer and scholar, Ganesh Balwant Nawathe (1929-98), popularly known as Jitendra Abhisheki, strode the world of Hindustani classical, semi-classical and devotional music like a colossus. After having learnt the basics of Hindustani music from his father, he went on to receive further training from noted figures like Jagannathbua Purohit of Agra gharana, Azmat Hussain Khan of Khurja gharana and Gullubhai Jasdanwala of Jaipur gharana. He thus mastered not only the styles of different gharanas, but also varied genres and forms like khayal, thumri, tappa, bhajan, bhavgeet, etc. He is also credited for the revival of Marathi theatre music (natyasangeet) in the 1960s and known to have composed music for over 25 Marathi plays.

A prolific composer, he created numerous khayal compositions in various ragas. Some of his noteworthy works are: ‘Daras bin jiyara tarase’ (Raga Gorakh Kalyan; drut Teental), ‘Mora mann bas kar lino’ (Raga Rageshri; drut Teental), ‘Langarwa chhand mori bainya’ (Raga Dhani; drut Teental) and many more. Many of his stage music compositions are also based on ragas. Popular among them are: ‘Artha shunya bhase’ from Matsyagandha (Raga Bhatiyar), Gheyi chhand makarand’ from Katyar Kaljat Ghusali (Raga Salagvarali), among others.

Shounak Abhisheki and Devaki Pandit will present khayal, dadra, bhajan and natyageet composed by Jitendra Abhisheki on 1st August at the Tata Theatre.

Bade Ramdas
Banaras, also known as Varanasi or Kashi, is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. Situated on the banks of the River Ganges, this holy city has been a symbol of the religious and cultural ethos of India for several centuries. The region around Banaras came to be known for its distinct style, especially in the fields of vocal music, dance and tabla.

The name of Bade Ramdas, alias Mohan Pyare or Govind Swami (1877-1960), features prominently in the annals of Banaras gharana as an outstanding vocalist and prolific composer. He was trained by his father-in-law, the Betiya gharana stalwart Jaikaran Mishra. The storehouse of compositions which Bade Ramdas created is astounding in terms of the range of genres covered: dhrupad, dhamar, khayal, tap-khayal, sadra, tarana, tappa, thumri, ghazal, chaiti, hori, biraha and others. The variety of unusual talas used in these compositions is equally incredible: Ada panj, Sulfakta, Sawari, Firdost, Lilavilas, Rudra, Matta, Lakshmi, Ganesh and others. The subjects covered are profound with devotional and philosophical overtones. His saint-like demeanour is reflected in the compositions, with a style that is serious yet charming, restrained yet deeply touching and intellectual yet emotionally appealing. There is hardly a vocalist or instrumentalist from the Banaras region who hasn’t been influenced, directly or indirectly, by the musical genius of Bade Ramdas.

Chhote Ramdas
Recognised as one of the eminent composers of Banaras gharana, Ramdas Mishra, alias Chhote Ramdas (born c. 1890), was an outstanding exponent of khayal, thumri and tappa. He was born in a family of musicians and trained by Thakur Prasad Mishra, his maternal grandfather, and Lakshmi Das in vocal music as well as instruments like the sarangi, rudraveena (been), jaltarang, harmonium and violin. Furthermore, he was trained in Betiya-style dhrupad under Dhanu Mishra.

Nanak Prasad Mishra
Hailing from a family of expert dancers and tabla players of Gopalpur (Jaunpur district), Nanak Prasad Mishra, alias Nankulal Mishra, has been one of the most influential personalities in the music fraternity of Banaras. His versatility knew no bounds. He was adept in vocal music, dance as well as playing instruments like the sitar, rudraveena (been) and tabla. With an extraordinary command over the melodic and rhythmic aspects of music, he wrote numerous compositions of khayal, thumri, bhajan, ghazal, hori and also gats for the sitar. Adyastuti and Nanak Namuna, the two volumes of his compositions, which he himself managed to publish, bear ample testimony to his multifaceted eminence as a poet, musician and composer. In recognition of his artistic prowess, he was appointed as Rajguru at the royal court of Nepal where he served all his life. It is little wonder that many renowned musicians were highly influenced by his virtuosic performance and stunning compositional skill.

Sajan Mishra and Swaransh Mishra will present the works of Bade Ramdas, Chhote Ramdas and Nanak Prasad Mishra on 1st August at the Tata Theatre.

R. D. Burman
Son of the legendary composer Sachin Dev Burman, Rahul Dev Burman, alias Pancham (1939-1994), was one of the most influential Bollywood music directors of the 20th century.

A distinguishing feature of his compositional style was that he believed in using all the available acoustic material including atonal (i.e., not producing any definite musical note) sources of sounds and instruments as well as unconventional expressions of the human voice and bold rhythms with a single objective to enhance the cinematic effect of the accompanying song-situation. In his multi-layered compositions, very often, the rhythm was felt not through rhythm instruments but through the very dynamics of the song. Here was an innovative musician whose artistic vision knew no bounds.

While he composed numerous songs showing varied influence of modern and Western dance music, Latin, Arabic, disco, jazz and rock music, his versatility also gave listeners some extremely melodious and hummable songs couched in Hindustani ragas and Bengali folk music. He also excelled in projecting musically, elements of fun and humour, and is regarded as a pioneer in the use of the electric organ.

Some memorable films for which R. D. Burman scored music include Teesri Manzil, Kati Patang, Caravan, Masoom, Padosan, Parichay, Amar Prem, Sholay, Aandhi, Ijaazat, 1942: A Love Story and others. Besides this, he also sang solo and duets in several Hindi films.

R. D. Burman’s compositions will be presented in a concert curated by Jolly Mukherjee featuring singers, Shailendra Singh, Alok Katdare, Shrikant Narayan, Vibhavari Apte Joshi, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Mukherjee, and an orchestra of 40 musicians. The concert will be held on 3rd August at the Jamshed Bhabha Theatre.

Celebrating 10 years of HSBC India’s association with the NCPA

This year marks 10 years of HSBC India’s support to Bandish and a spectrum of educational and outreach initiatives at the NCPA. This fulfilling association sets an example for the far-reaching impact of the patronage of the arts.  

“We deeply value our collaboration with the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai. This year, we are celebrating 10 years of HSBC India’s association with NCPA, a partnership that continues to collectively enable the preservation and propagation of performing arts and artistes. HSBC’s journey with NCPA’s Bandish reflects our commitment to supporting and preserving Indian art music. It brings to life the rich and diverse traditional repertoires of Indian music through presentations by some of the great names of Indian music. Our sincere appreciation to the NCPA for its commitment to excellence.”
Hitendra Dave, CEO, HSBC India

This article was originally published in the July 2025 issue of ON Stage.