​Dhrupad & Dikshitar
​Muthuswamy Dikshitar (1775-1835), revered saint-poet-composer, one of the trinity of Carnatic music, is said to have have lived in Varanasi to learn and study Sri Vidya. During this time it is said that he was exposed to Dhrupad music , which must have been the prevalent genre in North India at that time. Scholars and academics who have studied Dikshitar kritis have spoken about the influence of Dhrupad in his kritis. I was guided by an elder to explore this dhrupad element in Dikshtar kritis which led me to this adventure which still continues to be exciting, engaging and enriching... an ongoing journey.
​Why Dhrupad & Dikshitar?
​In early 2022 I was initiated by music connoisseur Shri R Mohan, also my father's close friend, to look into exploring the kritis of Muthuswamy Dikshitar from a dhrupad perspective. This was completely unchartered territory for any Dhrupad practitioner by far, and a daunting challenge which I took up with great skepticism initially. To decipher, decode and re-imagine these kritis that people were used to hearing in a certain way was not going to be a straightforward or simple task. Moreover, the separation between the two styles seemed untraversable for a young musician like me. However, it turned out to be more a matter of revelation and flow, and soon I found myself surrendering to the multi-layered, dynamic & intoxicating musical depths of Dikshitar kritis. As of now I have worked on Dhrupad explorations on more than 15 such kritis, and recorded around 8 of them in high quality digital format. All of these are available here in the Dhrupad & Dikshitar Recordings for your listening pleasure (high quality sound & ad free). To listen press the button below.
​My first step towards documenting my experiences with the phenomenal and multi layered works of Muthuswamy Dikshitar was in the form of a music album and music videos of "Iti- Dhrupad Meditations on Dikshitar". As you can imagine a project like Iti can never be an uninformed undertaking. It has taken more than a couple of years for me to find the space where I started seeing things in their true element. and even then they would continuously evolve. That I have heard is the nature of Dikshitar. The unending dimensions, which keep unfolding and drawing you inward deeper and deeper.
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Since the release of Iti in 2024, I have received an unexpected amount of support and encouragement from music connoisseurs, seasoned listeners and music lovers; that too from both Dhrupad and Carnatic space. ​I have continued exploring Dikshitar Kritis and a humble collection of recordings is available on this site.
​Iti - Dhrupad Meditations on Dikshitar
Read here about Iti - Dhrupad Meditations on Dikshitar, my first documented album on this project. Iti is available on all major music streaming platforms.
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