A biography of Sri Muthuswamy Dikshitar by Sri T L Venkatarama Aiyer
– Dr. Akshatha Varun
This book is a great resource for the students and rasikas of Carnatic music to get to know more about one of the trinities of Carnatic music, Sri. Muthuswamy Dikshitar. His life was a spiritual journey towards salvation. So was his music, always in praise of the divine. The author spreads open each phase of Dikshitar’s life in such a way that anyone who reads, will just visualize it. He has mentioned a lot of anecdotes that are just jaw dropping to know. His very birth, initiation into music, his association with Chidambaranatha yogi, their stay in Kashi, his visits to various temples of South India and the compositions in praise of the respective diety has been elaborately described by the author. While in Kashi, Muthuswamy Dikshitar was influenced by Hindusthani music and he introduced ragas like Yamuna Kalyani to Carnatic music. One can note that the author has put forward not only the gathered information by Sri. Ambi Dikshitar, but also his thoughts as a learned scholar and musician. Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s influence from western music through his Nottuswarams and the story behind the influence has been mentioned in this book. Many more such incidences are shared by the author. Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s life is inspirational and one can learn to adapt few of his qualities by reading this book. As I said, this book is a collection of anecdotes and one cannot miss to give this a read.
You can read this book at the Ananya Library ( Ananya Auditorium), Malleswaram.
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