The first lecture of the day was delivered by the noted violinist Dr. R. Hemalatha. The topic of her presentation was “Vivadi Ragas as Handled by Muthuswami Dikshitar.”
Dr. Hemalatha began by defining what vivadi ragams are. Out of the seventy-two mela raganga ragas, forty are classified as vivadi ragams. She explained that the primary difference between the raganga raga scheme and the melakarta scheme is that, in the former, all seven notes need not be present in both the arohana and avarohana. It is sufficient if all seven notes appear somewhere within the scale of the raga. One interesting point she highlighted was that there are no kirtanams in the janya ragams derived from vivadi raganga ragams.
She structured her lecture into four broad sections: the structure of compositions in vivadi ragams, the characteristic phrases employed by Dikshitar, other distinctive features, and kirtanams found in publications beyond the Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini. Dr. Hemalatha noted that around forty kirtanams are available in the ragams included within the scope of her lecture. Of these, five follow the pallavi, anupallavi, and charanam structure, while the remaining compositions use only the pallavi and anupallavi format with swarams, with one notable exception.
Dr. Hemalatha is an erudite scholar, and her deep musical insight combined with her vocal ability made the lecture especially engaging. She illustrated her analytical points by singing the relevant passages, which greatly enhanced the listening experience. While the technical depth of the lecture was beyond my full comprehension, as I had anticipated from the title itself, I thoroughly enjoyed it. It offered me a glimpse into the remarkable compositional mastery of Dikshitar.
The second lecture was one that I had been eagerly anticipating. Titled “The Nottusvarams of Muthuswāmi Dikshitar,” it was presented by Vidwan Anil Srinivasan, Vidwan Sikkil Gurucharan, and Vidwan Sayee Rakshith.
Nottusvarams are a joy to listen to and stand as evidence of yet another facet of Dikshitar’s compositional genius. Just last month, Sangita Kalanidhi T. M. Krishna released around twenty-five nottusvarams that he had rendered along with schoolchildren on his YouTube channel, which had already heightened my interest in this topic.
There are several narratives surrounding the origin of the nottusvarams. What is reasonably well established is that Dikshitar was exposed to European folk music through British military bands, and that these encounters influenced the creation of these compositions. As with many aspects of Dikshitar’s oeuvre, questions regarding how many nottusvarams he composed and how many were later attributed to him remain subjects of debate.
I found it particularly fascinating to listen to the original Western tunes alongside Dikshitar’s adaptations. The trio played both versions and explained how Dikshitar transformed melodies meant for social gatherings into structured compositions of enduring value. During the discussion on melodic structure, they spoke about the concept of an endless loop and demonstrated how multiple nottusvarams can be sung seamlessly, one after the other. While they described this as an accidental discovery, I have previously heard T. M. Krishna render three or four nottusvarams consecutively in concerts, making them feel like parts of a single extended composition unless I did not understand the point Anil made..
Even basic Karnatik music theory is challenging for me. When Western music theory is added to the mix, along with elements of neuroscience, it begins to feel overwhelming, like drinking from a fire hose. I will likely need to listen to this lecture several more times before I can begin to grasp the full magnitude of what Dikshitar achieved. Yet, if so much can be discussed and analyzed today about these compositions, one can only marvel at the genius of the man who created them.
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