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Delighting in Dikshitar

A unique platform solely dedicated to the legendary musician — a space for connoisseurs to navigate the rich and complex world of the genius composer.
Last Updated 30 April 2022, 20:15 IST

Surreal is a word we encounter many a time in our half-hour-long conversation with G Ravikiran, a classical musician, with roots in Bengaluru and Chennai. And all things surreal surface in the context of the legendary musician, poet and composer, Muthuswami Dikshitar who was considered to be one of the ‘trinity’ of Carnatic music — the other two being Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri.

Let’s start with surreal story number one. One night in 2004, Ravikiran recalls listening to a kriti called Sri Bhargavi by Dikshitar in Raga Mangalakaishiki which was part of a CD released by musician, T M Krishna, also Ravikiran’s guru now. “I still remember that night so vividly,” Ravikiran says, and you can sense the adrenalin rush in his voice. “That composition moved me on so many levels; I heard it on loop nearly 50 times that night.”

Ravikiran’s fascination with the world of Dikshitar coupled with his innate spirit of enquiry lead him, five years later, to create Guruguhamrta, a movement, a platform that is solely and wholly, Muthuswami Dikshitar, and nurtures a space for musicians, students of music and connoisseurs collectively to navigate the rich, complex and invigorating world of this composer whose contribution to the landscape of Carnatic music is mammoth, and whose discovery continues to be a work-in-progress for musicians and scholars alike.

Foraying into its 13th year, Ravikiran has helmed Guruguhamrta with conviction, and drawing from his engineering background and experience, has allowed it to expand its scope over the years, and grow vertically in a way that the platform now has four distinct wings — concerts and lecture-demonstrations, competitions for the student community, homage and experiences, and more recently, online productions. And Dikshitar, mind you, is always at the helm.

“I don’t want to make any grand statements about carrying forward Dikshitar’s legacy through the work I do at Guruguhamrta,” Ravikiran clarifies, “All I want to do is to continue to seek, find, document, and share my findings and experiences pertaining to Dikshitar, with a larger universe.”

An exploration of ragas

In the year that the world shut down, Ravikiran turned inward; embarking on a long-term project to document Dikshitar’s Raganga Ragas under a project called Raganga Malika. He is gearing up to release Season 2 of this project which comprises an exploration of the next set of six ragas, as interpreted by this composer.

More recently, coinciding with the 247th birth anniversary of Dikshitar on March 24, Guruguhamrta unveiled Dikshitar Kshetra Darshanam (DKD), a project that “endeavours to produce high-quality video documentaries combining the musical and other aspects of these kshetras (places) that are also filmed at these kshetras”.

Collaborative in form, content and intent, DKD, which is available for free on Guruguhaamrta’s YouTube channel, is also an ode to the eclectic spirit and personality of Dikshitar, whose music was considerably influenced and inspired by aspects of history, architecture, heritage, mythology and religiosity, culminating in a lyrical and musical experience that was rich, nuanced and layered, drawing into its fold, not merely musicians but also those with curiosity for culture and context. Joining Ravikiran on this six-part journey — whose genesis began literally on an overnight train to Ettayapuram, which houses the memorial of Dikshitar — is Chennai-based storyteller, architect and heritage enthusiast, Madhusudhan Kalaichelvan. Over the course of six episodes, there is an attempt to unravel and demystify the compositions, both musically and from the perspective of heritage and history.

“The thing about a Dikshitar composition,” Madhusudhan says, “is that it needs unpacking on several levels.”

That also means creating and producing these episodes requires time, energy and research. “I travelled to the Bhaktavatsala Perumal kshetra at Tirukkannamangai, near Tiruvarur a couple of times before the shoot, to understand its architecture and to unravel from the lyrics of the composition, the obvious and the hidden details pertaining to the temple’s architecture, legend, myth, et al,” Madhusudhan adds.

“That’s the challenge and beauty of Dikshitar,” Ravikiran adds, “Over the years of pursuing his work — almost singularly — I must say that the many discoveries I’ve had are as complex and challenging as they are humbling. Let me just say that it has re-instilled my faith that we are all mere custodians of the arts and we’ve just got to keep doing what we can to allow the music to keep moving forward.”

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(Published 30 April 2022, 20:04 IST)

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