99th Annual Conference of The Music Academy

My music season begins when I hear the words, “Good morning, and I welcome you all to the first lecture demonstration,” spoken in the baritone voice of Sriram Venkatakrishnan. Invariably, I hear these words almost twenty-four hours after they are uttered, when the lecture demonstrations of the first day are uploaded on the YouTube channel of The Music Academy. Being so far away from home is a curse at this time of the year, as I miss the music season, the lectures, the concerts, and of course, the food.

This year, however, I wanted to be there in person for two reasons. The first is that my dear friend R. K. Shriram Kumar is the Sangita Kalanidhi designate, and I wanted to be part of the celebrations. The second is that this year marks the 250th birth anniversary of Mudduswami Dikshitar, one of the greatest composers of Karnatik music, and the morning lectures are devoted to exploring the many facets of his music. But alas, due to various reasons, I could not make the trip. So here I am, vicariously living in Chennai during the season through YouTube uploads.

The two lectures on day one were delivered by erudite scholars. The first, “Traces of History: The raganga raga scheme followed by Muthuswami Dikshitar with special reference to Malavagaula and its janya-s,” was presented by Dr. Arathi Rao. The second, “The Sanskrit of Muthuswāmi Dikshitar,” was delivered by Dr. Naresh Keerthi. Both lectures were deeply scholarly and well beyond my technical comprehension. At the same time, they were presented with such clarity and engagement that even a lay listener like me remained glued to my seat throughout.

I am often asked why I listen to these lecture demonstrations when I am not a student of music. I do not have a clear answer. I often think that one does not need to stand in the pouring rain to enjoy it. Sitting by a window, watching the rain and feeling its spray, can be an exhilarating experience in itself. That is how I feel when I listen to these lectures.

For instance, Dr. Keerthi spoke about the influence of earlier compositions on Dikshitar’s work. I found this particularly interesting. Instead of the usual deification, it presented Dikshitar as someone who consciously worked on his craft, someone who read widely and assimilated what he absorbed into his own music. For an aspiring writer like me, this was instructive. It showed a path for honing one’s skill. That was my personal takeaway, one that had little to do with music itself.

At one point, Dr. Keerthi requested Shriram to sing a particular composition under discussion. Shriram, true to form, sang without hesitation, prompting Dr. Keerthi to remark, “This must be the first time the Sangita Kalanidhi designate has been an assistant in a lecture performance.” Shriram’s summing up of the lectures were, in themselves, miniature lecture demonstrations.

Day one certainly lived up to my expectations and has left me looking forward to the next fifteen days of celebrating Dikshitar and his music.