It is no wonder that students of such an esteemed school would equally dedicate their lives to performing, teaching and popularising the kṛtis of Muthuswami Dikshitar, as taught to them. Having been born and brought up in Calcutta, learning directly from Ambi sir as well as Teacher, and having learnt all the listed kṛtis of Dīkṣitar by the age of 19-20, my gurus soon moved to Madras in 1992 to further their careers in the field of music. Since then, they have set up the Veenavaadhini Sampradaya Sangita Trust ®, in Chennai, in the footsteps of their gurus. Learning the vocal / Veena is an ongoing journey for all students; in addition, for the last 20 years, Sri Jeyaraaj and Smt. Jaysri have been visiting each of the shrines where Dikshitar composed his kṛtis along with their students, and rendering these kṛtis at those hallowed shrines. As of date, around 300 songs have already been rendered by my Gurus as well as their students across India.

With new generations come new technology, and in keeping with the spirit of technological advancement and making Carnatic music more accessible to discerning rasikas and students, Sri Jeyaraaj and Smt. Jaysri have also set up an app – called Veenajj – where the kritis of Muttuswāmi Dīkṣitar are rendered and uploaded for listening by them. Each kriti is painstakingly recorded, with the pāthāntaram being the original pāthāntaram as learnt by them, and till date, around 100 kṛtis are available for listening.

They also arrange annual Dīkṣitar Utsavams, inviting senior as well as upcoming artistes, to render the kṛtis of Dīkṣitar, in a 2 – day festival, that is conducted in Chennai every year. To commemorate the 250th Jayanthi of Dikshitar in March 2025, they have also been arranging concerts, workshops, competitions, pilgrimages, etc. to celebrate the compositions of Dīkṣitar every month since July 2024 onwards, which will culminate in a trip to Tiruvarur (Dikshitar’s birthplace) in March, 2025. 

They have installed a special vigraham of Dikshitar at their residence in Chennai, to which they offer Puja and musical obeisance on the day of Krithika Nakshatram every month.

In conclusion, while Muttuswāmi Dīkṣitar will continue to be revered down the ages, it is a rare honour and privilege to belong to a śiṣya parampara that can trace roots right back to this composer, and I would like to end by saying that by saying that I am immensely thankful for the hand that guided me towards such a śiṣya parampara. I hope to do justice to the Veena and to the Dīkṣitar legacy in coming years.