Anubhuti – Experiencing Muthuswami Dikshitar

Anubhuti – Experiencing Muthuswami Dikshitar by Kanniks Kannikeswaran. Published by Garuda Prakashan. Paperback. 398 pages. Rs. 749.

Why does the world need to know Dikshitar? What is his contribution to music? And why a book on him?

Musician and composer Kanniks Kannikeswaran, based in the United States, addresses these questions with clarity and conviction in his characteristic style. A composer, educator, and scholar, he is above all a devoted admirer of Nada Jyoti Muthuswami Dikshitar. This book is a fitting tribute marking the 250^th birth anniversary of the great composer.

Anubhuti offers an engaging account of Dikshitar’s life and journey, weaving together narratives of his compositions, significant events, and defining episodes. Symbolism runs through the book, beginning with its thoughtfully conceived cover design.

Each chapter reveals the author’s encyclopaedic knowledge not only of Carnatic music and the vaggeyakaras, but also his extensive engagement with the Vedas, Upanishads, Tevaram, Tiruvachakam, Tiruppugazh, and Divya Prabandham, along with concepts drawn from Hindustani and Western classical music.

He offers a ringside view of Dikshitar’s life, from birth to mukti at Ettayapuram. The author establishes a compelling context in the prologue before entering the main subject.

He mentions that, when viewed narrowly through the prism of Carnatic music, Dikshitar comes across as one of the three greatest 19th-century influencers of the tradition. When viewed through the broader prism of Saguna upasana, we see Dikshitar’s works as a musical expression of Adi Sankara’s stotras. Viewed from the standpoint of Nirguna upasana, Dikshitar stands alongside Sadasiva Brahmendra, an 18th-century avadhuta mystic whose musical compositions on the nirguna para brahmam — such as Khelati Brahmande — form a bridge between Adi Sankara’s verses in the Viveka Chudamani and Dikshitar’s own composition, Jagadisha Guruguha.

The book is structured in three parts: part one – Dikshitar The Vaggeyakara; part two – The Music; and part three – The Significance. The author lucidly covers the following themes: Indian art music – the Northern and Southern traditions; Guruguha charita, covering Dikshitar’s ancestry, his birth and childhood in Tiruvarur, the Manali phase of his life and his early adulthood; the Kasi phase, during which he lived as a sadhaka; followed by his emergence as a vaggeyakara in Manali; the Kanchipuram phase; the return to Tiruvarur; his sojourn in Choladesa; and his final days in Ettayapuram. Kannikeswaran also examines how Dikshitar’s legacy has been propagated over the years and transmitted to generations through his sishya paramparas and through the diligent efforts of his nephew, Subbarama Dikshitar.

The book delves into Dikshitar’s repertoire, distinguishing the compo­sitions notated by Subbarama Dikshitar and the large body of compositions preserved through oral tradition. This systematic study offers readers insight into compositional forms and structure, scope for manodharma, lyrico-musical phrases, the range of ragas and talas, prosodic features, the Guruguha mudra, raga mudras, themes, suites of kritis, kshetra kritis, and the lakshana kritis in various raganga and upanga ragas of Venkatamakhi.

The chapter on the Hermeneutics of Dikshitar’s compositions deals in detail with the raganga ragas of Venkatamakhi, the similarity in compositional structure between Dikshitar’s kritis and the dhrupad musical form, thematic and conceptual parallels with Tevaram, and the pervasive influence of Srividya tantra and Advaita Vedanta. In depth, it discusses the parallels between various Tamil sources and Dikshitar’s portrayal of Tirukkadavur.

The chapter titled Guruguha Dig Vijaya places Dikshitar’s travels and repertoire within the context of earlier poets and bards such as Adi Sankara, the Nayanmars, the Alwars, and Arunagirinathar. It presents a wealth of information on the 275 Tevara Paadal Petra sthalas, with particular emphasis on Tiruvarur, and demonstrates how Dikshitar portrayed temples and traditions in his compositions.

The chapter on Shanmata highlights Dikshitar’s sagunopasana of Ganesa, Skanda, the Navagrahas, Maha Vishnu, Siva, and Devi in detail.

Kannikeswaran’s extensive work on the nottusvara sahityas of Dikshitar is well known to audiences. His chapter titled Colonial Interlude offers a compelling exposition of the colonial tunes adapted by Dikshitar and transformed into sagunopasana in honour of various devatas. He also presents an interesting interpretation of how Dikshitar virtually transformed the tune of the British national anthem into a stuti on Devi, while remaining rooted in the paradigm of non-duality.

There are many episodes bordering on the supernatural that surround his life. The author examines these narratives elaborately in the chapter on Mysticism. In particular, he describes the Amritavarshini kriti and the association of rain, Tamil, and amritam in detail. The author exhorts the reader to look beyond miracles at the stunning repository of knowledge left behind by the composer, which alone enables a true understanding of his exalted status as an integrator and innovator beyond compare.

Anubhuti also summarises the legacy of Dikshitar in the chapter titled Samashti, where the author discusses Dikshitar’s role in engaging with Purna Vidya, or Indian knowledge systems, in the capacity of an integrator and innovator. The author also presents his own composition, mangalam, a set of eight verses honouring the composer. This ragamalika mangalam, set in 15 ragas, is taught by the author to students in the United States.

Of the 472 kritis attributed to Dikshitar, 90 are on Devi, 52 on Siva, 27 on Ganesa, 24 on Maha Vishnu, and 23 on Skanda. Some scholars of earlier times have even described Dikshitar as the 64^th Nayanar and the 13^th Azhwar.

The book concludes with an epilogue offering suggestions to honour the composer’s pan-Indian legacy.

The book includes five appendices, featuring a list of kritis notated in the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarsini and a list of those not included in it. These also include a table of Navavarana kritis, a table of raganga ragas, a comprehensive list of nottusvara sahityas, and a study on Dikshitar’s nottusvara sahityas and their relevance to child development.

Deeply researched and rich in insight, Anubhuti stands out as a significant contribution to Dikshitar studies. It will be invaluable to serious students of Carnatic music, especially performers interested in approaching Dikshitar through informed, thematically structured concerts.

NARAYANAN VEDANTHAM

(A rasika)