Resources
Organisations
Guruguha gana vidyalaya,Calclutta
This was founded by Kallidaikurichi A.Anantakrishna Iyer a disciple of Ambi Dikshitar the great grandson of Dikshitar. In 1937 Ananthakrishna Iyer moved to Calcutta at the behest of a close family friend. Here, he built up a veritable school around him.AnantaKrishna Iyer propagated many rare Dikshitar kritis and built this institution and his monumental work was later continued by his son Shri.A.Anantharaman and Smt.Champakavalli.
Guruguhanjali, Chennai
This annual series has been conducted every year in Chennai after the Deepavali as an Anjali to Muthuswami Dikshitar by Dr.V.V.Shrivatsa.
Aradhanas , Jayanthis etc
Dikshitar jayanthi at Tirvarur
Every year the jayanti of Dikshitar is observed in Tiruvarur in the Dikshitar mani mantapam.A navavarana pooja and the rendition of the Kamalamba Navavarana kritis is followed by a concert in the evening.
Dikshitar Aradhana in Ettayapuram
An aradhana is conducted at Ettayapuram at the Dikshitar memorial there.
Other commemorative programs
These include the ones conducted at New Jersey
and guruguhaanjali,Austin
People who have contributed to Dikshitar kritis and their propagation include
- Dr.V.Raghavan
- Justice TL Venkatarama Iyer
- Veena Sundaram Iyer
- A.Anantakrishna Iyer
Vidwans with authentic pathantaras who propagated and sung Dikshitar Krtis
(In no particular order)
Kallidaikurichi Vedanta Bhagavatar
Anantakrishna Iyer
Pattamadai Sundaram Iyer
Smt.T.Brinda
Tiruppamburam Swaminatha Pillai.
Shri.T.Vishvanathan
Sandhyavandanam Srinivasa Rao
Dr.S.Ramanathan
D.K.Jayaraman..
Kallidaikurichi Mahadeva Iyer
Kallidaikurichi Mahadeva Bhagavatar derives his repertoire from his guru Vedanta Bhagavatar and also from Shri.Ambi Dikshitar.Some of his masterpieces include the narayani and saraswati manohari kritis
Smt.Kalpagam Swaminathan
Smt.Kalpagam Swaminathan the veena virtuoso derives her repertoire chiefly from Kallidaikurichi A AnanthaKrishna Iyer.Authenticity is her hallmark and her rendition on the Abhayamba vibhakti kritis stand testimony to her vidwat.
Smt.T.Mukta
Smt.T.Mukta the sister of Smt.T.Brinda is another living legend.Her renditions of saraswati manohari and veenapustaka are gems from their school.
Smt.D.K.Pattammal
Smt.D.K.Pattammal renowned for her impeccable pronounciation of the sahitya is another artiste who has a wide Dikshitar repertoire learnt from Shri.Ambi Dikshitar and also from T.L.Venkatarama Iyer.Her renditions of Kamakshi varalakshmi in bilahari among others is an unforgettable rendition.
Prof.S.R.Janakiraman
Prof.S.R.Janakiraman learnt Dikshitar kritis from the great flautist Tiruppamburam Swaminatha Pillai and from several illustrious gurus.His rendition of Hatakeshwara and Kashivisveshwara and Shri Guruguha mUrte in the original udayaravichandrika bear his scholarly stamp.
Shri.B.Rajam Iyer
Shri.B.Rajam a disciple of Ariyakudi Ramanuja Iyengar learnt several Dikshitar kritis under Shri.T.L.Venkatrama Iyer.Some of his best renditions include, "sAdhujana cittasarasijodhayam" in purnapanchamam, shrI bhArgavi in mangalakaishiki.It would not be an exaggeration today to say that there are some Dikshitar kritis that only Rajam Iyer knows.
Shri.R.K.Shrikantan
Shri Srikantan was born in 1920 to a distinguished traditional family of musicians of Rudrapatnam in Hassan District in Karnataka.He is the youngest son of late Sri Krishnasastry who was a great scholar in Sanskrit and Kannada, a noted poet, a versatile artist and a Harikatha vidwan.After taking lessons of music from his father at a tender age and later from his illustrious brother Sri.R.K.Venkataramasastry - a leading violinist and a disciple of T.Chowdaiah - he came under the influence of all leading musicians of yore from the south.
Smt.R.Vedavalli
Vidushi Smt.R.Vedavalli learnt Dikshitar krtis from Mahadeva Iyer among others.Her rendition of krtis like shrividya rajagopalam stands out.
Sri.B.Krishnamurthy
Shri.B.Krishnamurthy is the brother of Shri.B.Rajam Iyer and learnt music from shri.T.L.Venkatrama Iyer.
Smt.Shanta Subramanian
She has learnt several rare Dikshitar krtis from Kadalur Srinivasa Iyengar.Her repertoire includes several grahaswara lakshana gitams and krtis.
