Among the various compositions notated in the Sangeeta Sampradaya Pradarsini, the ragamalikas are interesting and intriguing. Among the composers belonging to the family of Ramaswami Dikshitar, Subbarama Dikshitar has employed this musical form extensively. He has composed ten ragamalikas, including the raganga ragamalika. These ragamalikas form vital study material, from the aspects of both sahitya and sangeeta. An attempt is made here to understand the ragamalikas of Subbarama Dikshitar as a whole, although it is important to analyse each one individually.
Though the majority of these ragamalikas were composed on royal patrons like Pusapati Ananda Gajapati Raju (Kaminchina kalavatira), Raja Jagadveera Mudduswami Ettendra (Enduku ra ra), Bhaskara Setupati (Garavamu) and Sri Rama Tiruvadi of Travancore (Ni sari), Subbarama Dikshitar has also dedicated his ragamalikas to deities like Rajagopalaswami (Vedukato) and Kartikeya of Kazhugumalai (Manatodi). All of them were composed in Telugu, except Manatodi, which is in Tamil.
The sahitya of these ragamalikas not only have their raga mudras interwoven, but also have the ‘poshaka’ (patron) mudra like Sri mudduswami jagadveera ettendra chandra in Enduku ra ra; Bhaskara mahipala in Garavamu; and Pusapati ananda Gajapati in Kaminchina kalavatira… read more