Of encyclopaedic proportions
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Subbarama Dikshitar, scion of the Muthuswamy Dikshitar, family and Chinnaswamy Mudaliar joined hands to produce a work that has remained an authentic reference book on Carnatic music. LAKSHMI DEVNATH writes.
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THE DAY, February 15, 1904, was a landmark in the annals of the history of Classical South Indian Music. The day witnessed a birth with a difference, for it was a book that emerged into the world. The title of the work is ``Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini" and the author — Brahmasri Subbarama Dikshitar. The opening phrase in the very first page of the book read "Sri Guruguhaya namah." The invocatory phrase also firmly established the credentials of the author for, Subbarama Dikshitar, born in 1839 was the last scion of the legendary Dikshitar family. He was the grandson of Balaswami Dikshitar and the adopted son of his grandfather's brother, the formidable Muthuswami Dikshitar!
It would be highly erroneous to describe this work as a mere book though that was how even its author referred to it. It is far from being just that. Its 1,700 pages are divided into two volumes. The subject matter is Carnatic music. The language employed, for the most part is Telugu, with a few pages in Tamil. The title is in Sanskrit. In fact, it would be appropriate to refer to it as an encyclopaedia on Carnatic music. For, the book has, within its fold, 170 gitams of Venkatamakhi, 229 krtitis of Muthuswami Dikshitar, 10 prabandhas, 41 chitta tanas, kritis of various composers and over a hundred other pieces like Suladis, Varnas, Swarajatis, Darus, padams, the compositions of Subbarama Dikshitar and many others.
In fact the work is a compendium of compositions of almost 70 composers. All of them are meticulously and descriptively notated with swara signs, gamaka indications and tala symbols. Further the pages contain elaborate discussions on the traditions of music and brief notes that explain characteristics of the ragas employed in the compositions. They firmly establish the tenets of traditional Carnatic music, justifying the title of the book. Interestingly just one kriti of Tyagaraja finds a place in the main body of the book. The appendix however contains four of the five popular pancharatnas. One amongst them, the Varali kriti, does not find a place. Besides these there are 77 biographies of musicians, musicologists, composers that include the members of his family, royal patrons of Ettayapuram, as also a brief autobiographical sketch of the writer himself. Indeed a formidable production by a single man!
The work gains in stature when one realises that the process of information collection in itself was an arduous task, in those days. Moreover, Indian printing was in its infancy and printed books were few and far between.
While there can be no gainsaying the fact that the Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini was a one-man effort, the work owed its greatness to four solid factors. The first was the stupendous Dikshitar legacy that Subbarama Dikshitar had inherited by virtue of his being a descendant of their family.
The second was the Venkatamakhi tradition. The progenitors of this, by means of its ruling next, the Chaturdandi Prakasika had established the grammar of Carnatic music for all times to come. The third was the patronage extended by the Ettayapuram kings. But finally and primarily the book owed its very existence to the relentless efforts of A.M. Chinnaswamy Mudaliar. Unfortunately he died before the book was published. However, a deeply grateful Dikshitar, in the very first page of the book, recorded his gratitude to his good friend, Chinnaswamy Mudaliar as also to his royal patron Maharaja Raja Sri Raja Jagadveera Rma Venkateswara Ettappa Maharaja.
A musician and musicologist par excellence, Chinnaswami Mudaliar was a Latin scholar and a Roman Catholic. He also held a Master of Arts degree from the Madras University and was a Superintendent of the Madras Secretariat. Mudaliar was enamoured of Carnatic music of Hindu music as he called it. But most important he wanted others to savour its boundless beauty. His goal was three-fold. He wanted the West appreciate the `music of the Hindus,' the Hindus to appreciate their music better and most important he wanted to preserve this music for all times to come. To this end he struck upon a scheme. Mudaliar was formally trained in Western music and decided to use its methods to propagate Carnatic music. He declared, ``The merits of Oriental Music will never be properly recognised until its best compositions are reduced to the most popular form of European notation. It will then become universal and will no longer remain exclusive.'' As one of the steps to achieving his goal he sourced out authentic versions of the compositions of great composers like Tyagaraja and personally transcribed them into European notation. He started a periodical called Oriental Music in European notation but also a press called the Ave Maria Press at Pudupet Madras. A remarkable initiative when one considers the fact that the printing industry in India was very much in its infancy!
The periodical called, Oriental music in European notation was first printed in 1893 with words in English, Telugu and Tamil characters. The sheets were sold for one anna (six paise) a page. However, the response to the periodical was not encouraging. The press raved about it but there was a dismal response from the public.
Subbarama Dikshitar was a musician, composer and musicologist par excellence. He was also the court vidwan of the Ettayapuram Samasthanam. This royal family had been playing generous host to the Dikshitars ever since his grandfather Balaswami Dikshitar had entered its portals in the beginning of the 19th century. Following his family conventions, Subbarama Dikshitar was also an active follower of the Venkatamakhi tradition.
In 1893, Chinnaswami Mudaliar addressed a letter to the Ettayapuram Samasthanam, requesting them to send Dikshithar to Madras to help him. The letter evoked a positive response. Subbarama Dikshitar himself writes, "Having heard of me, he (Mudaliar) invited me and requested my help in the publication of the raganga, upanga and bhashanga gitas of Venkatamakhi along with the kritis of Dikshitar in staff notation."
From 1894, the two communicated at length through the pages of The Hindu and Oriental Music. At a face-to-face meeting that took place subsequently, Dikshitar explained to Mudaliar that it was impossible to sing the kritis without knowing the intricacies of gamakas that were exclusive to the Venkatamakhi sampradaya.
Mudaliar saw the justification in Dikshitar's viewpoint. He addressed Dikshitar as his guru and got him to stay with him in Madras thrice and to teach him the science and art of Carnatic music, the intricacies of the raga-system and the gamakas is a particular.
Dikshitar thus stayed with him in all for a period of about three to four years and helped him to write down many compositions of Muthuswami Dikshitar. When the time came to publish the kritis of Muthuswami Dikshitar in staff notation, the two joined together and created additional gamaka signs to suit the work on hand. Thus evolved the most elaborate scheme of gamaka signs and other notation symbols. Mudaliar now proceeded to manufacture them as typesetting fonts.
At this juncture, Mudaliar's eyesight dwindled. He also retired from his government job and had only a pension to support him.
By this time, he had exhausted all his resources in pursuit of his mission. Subbarama Dikshitar also fell ill and had to return to Ettayapuram.
But Mudaliar was not a man to be deterred by obstacles. In 1899, Mudaliar was invited for the coronation of Raja Jagadaveera Rama Venkateswara Ettappa. He was financially decrepit and physically drained, but charged with a passion for his objective. He had also heard about the munificence and patronage of the Ettayapuram royalty towards literature and fine arts. Mudaliar used this opportunity to approach the king and requested that Dikshitar be allowed to complete the work taken up by him.
The royal nod meant that one more hurdle had been crossed. Mudaliar heaved a sigh a relief but tragically, died in December 1901.
The project, according to information provided by Subbarama Dikshitar, commenced on December 21, 1901. By December17, 1903, he had completed writing the biographies of composers, and an essay on the theory and practical aspects of music that also explain its gamaka and tala aspects.
The book was completed and published on February 15, 1904. The Maharaja spent almost ten thousand rupees on this project.
The book was printed at the Vidya Vilasini Press of the Ettayapuram Samasthanam.
In the English preface to the book Rao Bahadur C. Nagojee Rau wrote, "it would be presumptuous on my part to express an opinion on a work written by one of the greatest living authorities on South Indian Music."
Later in the same preface he expressed his gratitude to A. M. Chinnasami Mudaliar, the Rajah of Ettayapuram and to Subbarama Dikshitar.
To quote, "To what extent we are indebted to the gentlemen named above could be realised if it be remembered that Brahmasri Subbarama Dikshitar is now an old gentleman and that his great learning and knowledge and the stories of music literature in his possession would in the course of nature, have been lost to the world in a few years it this work had not been published now. To me and other friends of the late Mr. Chinnasami Mudaliar it is a matter of deep regret that he did not live to see his heart's wish accomplished."
It is one hundred years since the Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarshini was published. But till date it is the one indispensable book of constant reference and everlasting source material. Subbarama Dikshitar passed away in 1906 and with him an era came to an end. Subrahmanya Bharati sang an elegy in memory of this great man: "Charity vanished with Karna; poetry with the lofty Kamban but with the passing away of unparalleled Subbaraman, mellifluous music departed." A fitting tribute indeed!
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