Dikshitar invokes Ganapati as "mahA kAvya nATakAdi priyam".Indeed if the  nATaka nAyaka was Shri Dikshitar and the theme the mahAkAvya that was his caritra it is all the more enjoyable.A Kannada play "nAda jyoti Muttuswami Dikshitar " is staged at Bangalore.Renowned vidwan Shri.R.K.Padmanabha donned or rather lived the role of Dikshitar.He said that they had been conducting the play since 1993 and almost 21 shows had been held till date.

The play starts of with a narration of Ramaswami Dikshitar's tale and followed by how the childless couple pray at Vaidyeshwaran Koil.

The kriti shambho jagadeesha (shankarabharanam) was used at the appropriate juncture.Subramanya Shastri painted an excellent portrait of erudition and emotion, when he consoles his wife and later when he prays to the Lord at Tirupati to restore the eyesight of Chinnaswamy Dikshitar.
Followed by this was the movement of the family to Manali under Muddukrishna Mudaliyar's patronage and the arrival of ChidambaranAtha yogi .

Next is his sojourn at Kashi.Here , contrary to the popular story his marriage is shown after his return from Kashi.However Shri.R.K.Padmanabha touched the sublimity of the stage in the scene of his getting the Veena from the river.The main objective of the play was achieved in the sense that both the audience and the artiste achieved a sAlokaAnubhava with the characters and the story.

The play progresses through the Tiruttani episode, his marriage,curing of Tambiappan- played by Mridangam Ravi,the setting for Hiranmayim and the Kamalam incident.Manasi prasad a disciple of shri.R.K.Padmanabha deserves special mention for her dance of rUpamu jUci.His travels and his significant meeting with the Tanjavur quartette all move along nicely and coherently and we come to the amrtavarshini incident and Dikshitar goes to Ettayapuram..It is here that one realises that lavish sets and talented thespians alone do not make up a good play but involvement ,effort and attitude do.Needless to say RKP has achieved this difficult task with ease.

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As a  fitting finale we are brought back by the singing of a chorus of Meenakshi Me mudam and Dikshitar sheds his mortal coil.There was a minor irritant here as he was portrayed as lying down and asking the disciples to sing.A pooja room would have been the apt  and the actual setting for these.But On the whole an extremely laudable effort.