Colonial Interludes: The Western Airs of Muthuswamy Dikshitar: Lecture Concert at Texas A&M University Sponsored by SPIC-MACAY By Srividya Ramasubra

Colonial Interludes: The Western Airs of Muthuswamy Dikshitar: Lecture Concert at Texas A&M University Sponsored by SPIC-MACAY

By Srividya Ramasubramanian

College Station, Oct 30 2009

“How many of you have heard of Muthuswamy Dikshitar”? asked Kanniks Kannikeswaran to a packed audience. Only about a score of hands went up. “Kanniks has a tough task at hand,” I thought to myself. It is one thing to give a lecture on Dikshitar in the Music Academy or even at the British Council in Chennai, the epicenter of Carnatic Music. But it is quite another thing when the audience includes Western musicologists, Carnatic aficionados, and all the shades in between. Yet, Kanniks was totally at ease with the audience. He was just as well-versed with jigs and waltzes as he was with kritis and gamakas.

After talking about some fundamental differences between Western and Indian classical music styles, Kanniks gave a historical overview about Indian culture in the late 1700’s under British Rule, to set the stage to introduce us to the “hero” of the narrative – the illustrious South Indian composer, Muthuswamy Dikshitar. Using colorful photos of temples and festivals from South India, his lecture vividly demonstrated the sheer courage and spirit of adventure of Dikshitar who visited numerous sacred “kshetras” that are beautifully described in his compositions.

In striking contrast to the strictly classical compositions of the Carnatic musical trinity – Dikshitar, Tyagaraja, and Syama Sastry – were the catchy yet bawdy European folk numbers played by the colonizers in the British army and European taverns established in India. Given the ultra-conservative family background of Dikshitar, it is remarkable that he was open to exploring new tunes from Hindustani and Western music. Interestingly, Kanniks mentioned that the scholar-king Sarabhoji of Thanjavur, a contemporary of the musical trinity of Carnatic music, maintained bands that included a vast collection of imported Western instruments. In fact, it is Muthuswamy Dikshitar’s younger brother Balaswami Dikshitar, who is credited to have introduced the Western violin to Carnatic music.

Against this backdrop, the listeners were able to see how the nottuswara sahityas evolved as a unique genre that adapted popular Western tunes originating in France, Ireland, and Ukraine that Dikshitar Indianized and Sanskritized in his own unique way. Of the 39 known nottuswaras, all of which are recorded by Kanniks in his two CD series called Vismaya, only a handful are regularly sung these days by contemporary musicians. Kanniks picked up a few exemplars and illustrated to us the original tune from which the nottuswaras were borrowed. Then he followed up by singing the nottuswarams with Sanskrit lyrics by Dikshitar. For example, Shyamale Meenakshi is based on the famous Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star adapted from Mozart’s composition and Santatam Pahimaam is based on the British national anthem “God save the Queen”!

The multi-media presentation ended with Kanniks’s suggestion that nottuswara sahityas be seen as a starting point to introduce children, especially those in the Indian diaspora, to Carnatic music – a revolutionary thought indeed in a world where the first songs that pre-schoolers learn are violent ones such as “Humpty Dumpty had a great fall” or “Jack fell down and broke his crown.”

Dr. Mysore Mohan, faculty advisor to SPIC-MACAY TAMU presented Kanniks Kannikeswaran with a memento in appreciation of the wonderful lecture that he shared. Several interested students stayed back after the lecture to chat with the scholar-artist to soak up more knowledge about Dikshitar and his nottuswara sahityas.

Vismaya CDs on Dikshitar’s nottuswara sahityas are available at www.cdbaby.com.

About the author: Srividya Ramasubramanian is an assistant professor of Communication at Texas A&M University and is also a Carnatic vocalist. She is participating in Shanti Choir (www.shantichoir.org), a multi-media choral/dance performance of Kanniks in conjunction with the United Nations International Choir.

Kanniks’ talk in the College Station Campus on Friday October 30, 2009 on the Nottusvara Sahityas of Mutthuswami Dikshitar.

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Kanniks’ talk in the College Station Campus on Friday October 30, 2009 on the Nottusvara Sahityas of Mutthuswami Dikshitar. By S. Jayakumar, Houston.

This talk was organized by SPIC-MACAY of College Station. The Majority of the audience was composed of students from various schools. Some of them were familiar with Indian classical music while others, notably students taking courses in world religions and cultures, were unfamiliar with the concept of Indian classical systems.

Kanniks is a master at understanding his audience and tailoring his talk accordingly. He began with an introduction to the Indian classical raga system and contrasting it with the western systems. The audience was in rapt attention, with many people taking copious notes.

In the early 1800s, during the peak of the colonial period, the renowned composer Mutthuswami Dikshitar is known to have written compositions in Sanskrit set to various western Irish, Scottish and British folk tunes (such as Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!). In this talk, Kanniks explores this unique genre of Indo-Celtic music.

Mutthuswami Dikshitar was born in Tiruvarur, the abode of Lord Shiva as Tyagaraja – the Lord of renouncers and the Lord of all auspiciousness, and Goddess Kamalamba. Dikshitar’s first composition ever is known to be in praise of Tiruttani Murugan. During his lifetime, Dikshitar had travelled to many places in Tamil Nadu and has written compositions in praise of the presiding deities of temples in those places.

A story he narrated was of a village Ettaiyyapuram that had been ravaged by drought. Mutthuswami Dikshitar visited the village, and composed and sang in praise of Devi To this day the residents of Ettaiyyapuram recount this story. I was moved to hear this story. This composition was written to the tune of raga amritavarshini.

One of the tunes that had the distinction of gaining Diskshitar’s attention is the British National Anthem “God Save the King” (or Queen). Explicit appeals to scatter the enemies of God or to confound their politics gives way to a praise of Goddess as the all sustaining mother, the giver of that which is sought by all, and the form of the all-pervading consciousness.

I also enjoyed the song “Kamalasana Vandita” and the Gallopede tune – a folk melody seen in English and American country dance. The folk tune is very obvious with a playful rhythm and three claps at the end of each line. This composition is in praise of Goddess Kamalamba of Tiruvarur.

Dikshitar has written songs in praise of Rama (“dAsarate”,”rAmacandram”), Ganapati (“shakti sahita”), Subrahmanya, and many songs in praise of various forms of Devi.

Behind Kanniks’ repertoire on Dikshitar’s Nottusvara Sahityas lies a tremendous amount of research. As with anything to do with India’s past, this kind of inquiry is not easy, owing to lack of proper documentation. Kanniks has done an immense amount investigative work, sought out knowledgeable individuals, looked for old books and notes, and conducted numerous interviews.

It is interesting to note that the name “Kanniks” itself was neither invented by Kanniks nor given by his parents. It was the norm in colleges in India where all long names are shortened with an “sss” in the end – such as Venksubs for “Venkatasubramaniam”, Venks for Venkat and “Rams” for Ramakrishnan. So, the name given by his friends to Kannikeswaran is, of course, Kanniks!

Muttuswami Dikshitar’s compositions are rooted in Vedanta – or the vision of oneness of all creation. Here are a set of Irish, Scottish and British folk tunes that were popular in the bars in India in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. And here is a man who sees sanctity in these western notes that were new to the Indian mind. The magnanimity of the vision of Vedanta is fittingly matched by Mutthuswami Dikshitar’s generous and spontaneous expression of that vision.

For the first time, the entire set of 39 compositions has been sung and produced to the original tunes in a historic production called vismaya. Kanniks’ daughter Vidita’s mellifluous voice gives abundant life to Dikshitar’s Nottusvara Sahityas. At the talk, Kanniks himself sang one of the songs to the audience accompanied by the tune.

As Kanniks said, this genre of music is neither completely Indian classical nor completely western. That is the uniqueness of Dikshitar’s genious, and of Kanniks contribution to the world of music. My salutations to Guruguha (Mutthuswami Dikshitar) and my deepest respects to Kanniks for expertly unfolding the world of Nottuswara Sahityas of Dikshitar in this Indo-Celtic Journey.