20-SUBBARAMA DIKSHITAR

21-10-2019

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ABSOLUTELY GREAT BLOG BY

sreenivasaras

Music of India – a brief outline – Part Twenty

14 Jun

Continued from Part Nineteen – Lakshana Granthas– Continued

Part Twenty (of 22 ) – Lakshana Granthas – Continued

15 . Sri Subbarama Dikshitar and Sangita –Sampradaya-Pradarshini

https://sreenivasaraos.com/2015/06/14/music-of-india-a-brief-outline-part-twenty/

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Subbarama Dikshitar (1839–1906^[]) was a Carnatic music composer. He was the grandson of Baluswami Dikshitar, a brother of Muthuswami Dikshitar. He was an accomplished composer in his own right, but is more famous for his Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini, a book detailing the works of Muthuswami Dikshitar and a reference on many other Carnatic musical concepts.

Baluswami Dikshitar, a noted musician, was at the court of Ettayapuram kings. He adopted Subbarama Dikshitar as his own son and taught music to him. Subbarama Dikshitar began composing at the age of seventeen and became the court musician of the Ettayapuram kings at the age of nineteen. He composed many kritis, varnams, etc. To name a few important ones - Darbar raga, atta tala varna on God Karthikeya; jathiswara in yamuna kalyani raga, mrudanga jathi (1-2-3-2-1); shankaracharyam in shankarabharana raga, adi tala; ragamalika in 9 ragas; chauka varnas in raga anandabhairavi & surati

Subbarama Dikshitar at the age of 60 began writing the book Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini at the behest of A.M.Chinnaswami Mudaliar and completed it after four years of hard work. It can be said that he was one of the earliest documenters of Indian music and musicology. Subbarama Dikshitar died at a relatively young age of 67

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Sri Subbarama Dikshitar

Sri Subbarama Dikshitar is the last of the Great Musician-Composer-Musicologist-Scholars of the Karnataka Sangita. His towering personality and scholarship stands far above any of his contemporaries. And, there is none equal to him even during the present times. He was the culmination of a long, historic and a chaste tradition of Indian Music that evolved over the centuries. Sri Subbarama Dikshithar combined in himself a great musicologist, historian, composer, and a great musician. His unique contribution is the composition of sancharis for all ragas figuring in Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini.

The whole world of Karnataka Sangita lovers, musicians, musicologist, scholars and everyone associated with Indian Music are greatly indebted to Sri Subbarama Dikshitar for his monumental Sangita-Sampradaya-Pradarshini and its associated works. But for his Great works into which he poured all his learning and knowledge, the accumulated wisdom of the centuries would have been lost to the modern age. Dr. V. Raghavan compares Sri Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangita –Sampradaya-Pradarshini to a huge and permanent dam which impounded and preserved the music of the golden age of Karnataka music; and from which practicing musicians, theorists, editors and publishers of recent times have been continuously drawing inspiration and sustenance from it.

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Sri Subbarama Dikshitar was the inheritor of a distinguished and glorious tradition- Dikshitar Parampara – of Musician-Composer-Scholars. The three successive generations of the great composer-musicians of the Dikshitar Parampara are indeed like the pillars of Karnataka Sangita.

The crest jewel in this Sarasvathi-kanta-abharana – that is the Dikshitar Parampara, was Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar (1775‑1835), one of the Trinities of Karnataka Sangita. He was the son of Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar (1735 – 1817 A.D) who was proficient in the Lakshana (theory) and Lakshya (practice) of Karnataka Sangita. The popular Raga Hamsadhwani with which the concerts invariably takeoff (after the Varna) and which has also become a regular part of repertoire of Hindustani Music is said to be the creation of Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar. He is also credited with large number of Tana-varnas, Pada-varnas, Darus, Raga-malikas and Kirtanas. His Raga-malika in 108 ragas and Taalas (Ashtottara Satha Raga Taala Malika) is an icon of his versatility and creative genius.

After Mutthuswamy, two sons – Chinnaswamy and Baluswamy–and a daughter Balambika were born to Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar. All were accomplished musicians.

Chinnaswamy Dikshitar (1778-1823) the second son of Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar was, in his own right, a gifted musician and composer. His two Kritis composed in honor of Sage Narada: Ganalola karunalavala (in Todi) and Narayanananti (in Kalyani) are well known. The first line of the Pallavi Ganalola karunalavala, and the Anupallavi manita guna sujnana dhurina were popularly sung in Raga-Tana-Pallavi rendering during the early parts of the 20th century. Chinnaswamy is said to have created Sanchari phrases for many Ragas; and also used diverse Taalas like Dhruva, Triputa, Adi, Matya and Ragana Matya in his compositions. Sadly; Chinnaswamy died quite young at the age of 45 while on a pilgrimage to Madurai.

The youngest of the three brothers was Baluswamy Dikshitar (1786‑1858). He was younger to Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar by nearly about ten years. Since his illustrious elder brothers had taken to Veena, Vocal music and composing, Baluswamy decided to try something different and new. At the suggestion of the Dubash Venkatakrishna Mudaliar who was their family friend and patron, Baluswamy started learning to play on the western instrument – Violin – that was just getting popular in Madras. Venkatakrishna Mudaliar appointed a European tutor to teach Baluswamy. Within about three years, Baluswamy became an accomplished violinist. It was his genius that adopted the western instrument Violin to Karnataka Sangita. He soon started accompanying, on violin, his elder brother Mutthuswamy who played Veena. Thus, what started as a jest or an experiment, in due time, became a regular feature of the Karnataka Sangita. Now, it is hard to imagine a Karnataka Music concert without its most visible and audible element, the violin , accompanying the main singer.

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Sri Subbarama Dikshitar (1839-1906) comes in as the fruit or the culmination of the distinguished Dikshitar Parampara. He was born in Tiruvarur in 1839 (i.e. four years after the demise of Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar) as the second son of Shivarama Iyer and Annapurni who was Baluswamy Dikshitar’s youngest daughter.

None of the three brothers – Mutthuswamy, Chinnaswamy nor Baluswamy – had a male child. On the advice of Kumara Ettappa Maharaja of Ettayapuram, who was their patron, Baluswamy adopted Subbarama the second son of his daughter Annapurni as his son. When Subbarama was adopted and brought to Ettayapuram he was just a lad of five years. Baluswamy, under the patronage of the Maharaja, arranged for the education of Subbarama in Sanskrit (Vyakarana, kavya, Alamkara), Telugu, Music and Veena. Subbarama was a bright young boy eager to learn; and, by the age of 17 he was just flowering into a talented musician and composer.

In his nineteenth year (1858), Subbarama Dikshita was appointed Asthana Vidwan of Ettayapuram, succeeding his foster-father Baluswamy Dikshitar who just had passed away.

Sri Subbarama Dikshitar led a busy and academically rich life at Ettayapuram. Sri Subbarama Dikshitar gained fame as a musician and a composer (Vak-geya-kara).

Though later in his life Sri Subbarama Dikshitar gained fame as a Lakshanakara, his contributions as a Vaggeyakara are also significant. While basically adhering to the style of Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar , Sri Subbarama Dikshitar displayed a great versatility , and produced not only kritis but also many Tanas, Chowka and Pada Varnas, Svarajatis, Raga-malikas and Darus with liberal Svarakshara passages and alliterations. He composed the music for some of Krishnasamayya’s (another artist attached to the Court) lyrics. In his description of one of Krishnasamayya’s kritis, Devi divya nama in the Raga Mechabauli, he mentions that the music for it was composed by him.

His writings and compositions were generally in Telugu language.

The body of his known Musical creations include Eight Kritis ( two in Bhairavi, two in Shankarabharanam; and one each in Sriranjani ,Yadukula kambodhi , Natakuranji , and Kalyani ); Seven Raga-malikas ( of these four are in praise of the King ); Twelve Varnams (four Tana-varnams, three Chowka Varnams and five Pada varnams ); and two Darus.

Most of his compositions are set in Rupaka Taala or Tisra Eka Taala.

Poetic excellence and musical prowess are the hallmark of his compositions. Some of his exquisite Varnams gained popularity. For instance; his Chowka Varnam in Raga Surati beautifully portrays the Raga-bhava with its delicate prayogas and Gamakas. In this Varnam, the Sahitya (meaningful words) succeeds the Charana; and the Varnam concludes with the Pallavi.

[Pada Varnams used for dance choreography are also called as Chowka Varnams or Ata Varnams. They usually are set in slower tempo (Chowka kalam) ; and, have longer lines and pauses, enabling apt portrayal of the Bhava of the Varnam . All its Svaras are accompanied by Sahitya (lyrics) and Sollukattus which are made up of rhythmic syllables. The dancer performs the Sahitya in Abhinaya and the Sollukattus in Nritta. Chowka Varnams, are, thus, well suited to dance.

Further, learning to sing Chowka Varnams is considered a part of developing a good voice culture. The Chowka kalam rendering helps one to explore the Raga, in depth. It also helps the learner to balance the Tala; to adjust the Gamakas; and, to pay greater attention to pauses.]

As regards his Kritis, Sri Subbarama Dikshitar followed the Mela- classification according to Govindacharya, though in his Raga-Lakshana Grantham Sangita-Sampradaya – Pradarshini , he adopted the Venkatamakhin classification of Melas,

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Sri Tyagaraja gave form to most of the Ragas in the Sampūrṇa-Raga-paddhati system, where each Mela-karta has all the seven Svaras in their Aroha (ascending) and Avaroha (descending) scales. Here, the 72 Melakarta Ragas (from Kanakangi to Rasikapriya) are grouped under Twelve Chakras.

(Please check here for Muddu Venkatamakhin’s Appendix (Anubandha) to Chaturdandi Prakashika )

Sri Mutthusvami Dikshitar followed the other system – Venkatamakhin’s classification of Melas – termed as Raganga Raga (equivalent term to Mela-kartha) , which adopts the principle that the Raganga Raga needs to be Sampurna in either Aroha or Avaroha, but non-linear (A-sampurna , not-sampurna). Here , under Venkatamahin’s scheme (Kanakambari to Rasamanjari) , Sri Mutthusvami Dikshitar gave form to most of those Ragas through his compositions. (But, at the same time, he was quite aware of the classifications under the other system as well)

Prof. Ramanathan explains: The difference between Mela-karta and Raganga-raga is that while the former (Mela-karta) had to have all the seven Svaras in both the Aroha (ascent) and in the Avaroha (descent); but, for the latter (Raganga-raga) it was sufficient if the seven Svaras were present either in Aroha or in Avaroha.

Further , in Mela-karta, the Aroha and Avaroha the seven Svaras have to occur in their regular (krama) sequence ; while in the Raganga –raga , the sequence of Svaras in Aroha and Avaroha could be irregular (vakra) .

In other words; the Melakarta Ragas are all Sampurna Ragas, but the converse is not true, i.e., all Sampurna Ragas are not Melakarta Ragas.

Sri Subbarama Dikshitar in his Sampradaya-Pradarshini, meticulously explains, describes and illustrates , in great detail, all the 72 Raganga Ragas, spread over three volumes: Volume I (1-24); Volume II(25-36); and Volume III(37-72).

In Volume One of Sampradaya-Pradarshini, pages xix to xxvi , Sri Subbarama Dikshitar provides the names and other details of the 72 Raganga and Janya Ragas, in a tabular from under the title “ Ragangopanga Bhashanga – Raga Murchana Table’.

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Unlike in the case of Sri Tygaraja, the main line of disciples (Shishya-parampara) in the Dikshitar tradition (Dikshitar-parampara) is represented by its family members. Sri Ramaswamy Dikshitar was followed by his famous son Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar. And, Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar was followed by his brother Baluswamy Dikshitar who in turn was followed by his son Subbarama Dikshitar.

Sri Subbarama Dikshitar was followed by his son whom he named him as Mutthuswamy Dikshitar (who later gained fame as Ambi Dikshitar). And, Ambi Dikshitar was followed by his son Tiruvarur Baluswami Dikshitar.

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Ambi Dikshitar (1863-1936) who succeeded Sri Subbarama Dikshitar as the Asthana Vidwan (court musician) at Ettayapuram, stayed there for a long time. Later, he migrated to Madras where he lived for the rest of his life. While in Madras, Ambi Dikshitar gathered around him a circle of disciples, scholars and admirers. Ambi Dikshitar made his life mission to preserve and propagate the Kritis of Sri Mutthuswamy Dikshitar in their pristine purity. In his efforts, he was ably aided by Justice T. L. Venkatrama Iyer; brothers Tirunelveli, Anatakrishrna Iyer and Sundaram Iyer; and others.

Ambi Dikshitar initiated and guided Smt. D. K. Pattammal in singing Dikshitar’s Kritis. He was also the teacher of the renowned musician – Artist Shri S. Rajam who popularized rendering of Dikshitar’s Kritis over All India radio Madras. Shri Rajam also presented pictorial representations of many of Dikshitar’s Kritis.