This year marks the 250th birth anniversary of Muthuswami Dikshitar, the youngest of the Carnatic music trinity alongside Tyagaraja and Shyama Shastri. To comemmorate the occasion, the RK Srikantan Trust is releasing a monograph on the Navagraha kritis of Dikshitar.
These are a set of nine compositions the composer dedicated to celestial bodies, each with a specific raga and tala. The monograph will be released during the annual Sankranti Music Festival of the RK Srikantan Trust which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.
According to vocalist Ramakanth Srikantan, managing trustee and son of RK Srikantan, “We are celebrating three milestones this year: my father RK Srikantan’s 106th birth anniversary, Dikshitar’s 250th birth anniversary and the Trust turning 30.“
“These Navagraha kritis have special reference to the composer’s vaggeyakara elements (poet-composers who unites music and words) and are the highlight of this year’s inaugural programme. RK Srikantan used to teach these kritis on Akashavani in the 70’s during his show, ‘Gaana Vihara.’ It became quite popular with classical music lovers and stayed on air for two decades.”
The monograph will be released by S Ahalya, vice chancellor, Karnataka Sanskrit University on January 14 in the presence of his holiness Swayamprakasha Sachidananda Saraswati Mahaswamiji of Hariharapura.
The four-day Sankranti Annual Music Fest will feature 15 concerts and a Harikatha programme. Two annual awards from the Trust will also be given that day. The Srikantashankaraa will be bestowed on 82-year-old violin maestro VV Subrahmanyam for his lifetime achievements, while the Shaankaradwaita Tatvagna will be conferred on 98-year-old Dhali Narasimha Bhat, who has penned 15 books on The Veda.
The awardees
Ramakanth says, “My father and I would enjoy VV Subbrahmanyam’s violin accompaniment and cherished the musical rapport that extended beyond the stage. The maestro has worked across generations, accompanying stalwarts such as Chembai, Ariyakudi, Semmangudi and MS Subbulakshmi, as well as present-day musicians.”
Dhali Narasimha Bhat
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Special Arrangement
Subrahmanyam who was born in Wadakkanchery near Kochi in Kerala, moved to Chennai as a 15-year-old and is known today for his Hindustani shyli of presenting concerts. “He accompanied MS Subbulakshmi as a violinist during the United Nations Day celebrations in New York in 1966,” says Ramakanth.
Subrahmanyam established Nadabrahmam, a centre for research and teaching where he is still active.
Yajur Veda expert, Dhali Narasimha Bhat, was born in 1927 in Bengaluru, to a family of Vedic pundits, and was tutored by his father and guru Dhali Bheema Bhattaru. Bhattaru and his brother were both Vedic pundits who served as asthana vidwans of the Mysore Palace during Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s rule.
Now settled in Hosakerehalli, Narasimha Bhat has been teaching The Veda for the last seven decades and many of his books are part of the curriculum at many Sanskrit universities in India. This Karnataka Rajyothsava and Veda Vyasa Prashasti awardee has collected and preserved ancient manuscripts of Vedic literature and still tutors students.
The festival will feature music by Ashok Kumar on the nadaswara and vocalist Vaishnavi Ramdas on January 14; vocalists Archana Murali, Jayamangala Krishnan, the Kanchana Sisters, Maharajapuram Srinivasan, and veena player Prashanth Iyengar will perform on January 15; there will be a vocal rendition by S Shankar and a harikatha presentation by Mohan Kumar on January 16, and vocalists Abhijith and Sriram Shastry, and flautist Vamshidhar will perform on January 17.
The Sankranti Music Festival by the RK Srikantan Trust will take place from January 14 to 17 at Seva Sadan, Malleswaram. Entry free. Call 94484 68192 for program details
