BIO

This project is an initiative to present the famous Nottuswaram compositions of Shri Muthuswami Dikshitar, a famous composer of Carnatic Indian classical music whose compositions are famous who has left behind a legacy to cherish.

Nottuswara or Notes as the name suggests are short verse songs, which were composed in the 1830s in India during the British rule. Around 40 songs were composed out of which 36 are revived and notated in the Indian music format. Penned in Sanskrit, these songs were all based on the Western C major scale, equivalent to the Shankarabharanam Raga of Carnatic music akin to the Bilawal of Hindustani Music. The songs were based on Western notes, Celtic tunes but were not replicas of European tunes Looking at his work, one finds a unity of purpose behind him. Muthuswami dikshitar graced this earth with his noble presence & left behind an eternal fragrance that shall never wither. His works of grandeur & depth, both in melody & poesy, afford us a glimpse into the eternal soul. The mudra or the signature for his kritis (songs) is guruguha, which means the guru dwelling in the cave of my heart. These compositions are based on simple melodies and devoid of the ornamentation (gamaka) that is characteristic of Carnatic music. On the other hand, the lyrics (sahitya) of these compositions are entirely Indian and consistent with the rest of the stotra- literature. This genre of music represents a unique dimension of creativity and is also a pointer to the relatively unknown aspect of the cultural interaction between the East and the West in the 1800s.