Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar (स्वर्न वेन्कतेस दिक्षितर)

Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar

Swarna Venkatesha Dikshitar a noted composer and musical scholar, Dikshitar belonged to the Chidambaram tradition of Podu Dikshitars and was trained early by Raja Ganesa Dikshitar and Padaga Sundaram Pillai. He composed many kritis, the most popular of which was swarnakAla bhairavam in kalyANi. It has an unusual tala structure of 13 matras (9+2+2 – sankeerna triputa) and was popularized by KV Narayanaswamy. He was awarded the Sahityakara gold medal by the Paramacharya of Kanchi. He was also active in the Music Academy lecture sessions for many years. He died in Chennai in March 2002 at the age of 82.