The most rewarding task for teachers and performers may well be to convey Tyagaraja’s last message to his disciples and the world, one that may liberate us by letting go of artificially separatist views of culture, creed and nature as well (given the multiple crises humankind is faced with on a daily basis):
Paramātma is brightly shining / may this dawn upon you / in all its beauty / Named as Vishnu, named as Shiva / Said to be in people / and heavenly beings / throughout the entire universe / That Supreme Being pervades like light! / Have a joyful subtle insight into that / in all its beauty.
What is it that makes Tyagaraja unique? What do we know of Tyagaraja?
Musically speaking, South India can be clearly divided into pre-and post-Tyagaraja phases. In this context it would perhaps be more accurate to include Syama Sastri and Muthuswami Dikshitar and attribute the sweeping changes to the entire Trinity. But with Tyagaraja’s output being the highest of the three, the most popular and wide-ranging in themes, he perhaps bore the largest burden in effecting the transformation.
What is it that makes Tyagaraja unique?
We owe much of the joy we experience in Carnatic music to him. His songs stand alone in lending themselves to multiple sangatis, plenty of niraval and swaras.
Source: “What makes Tyagarajs kritis unique? – Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music” by Sriram V. (Date Visited: 13 May 2026) | Learn more: “What do we know of Tyagaraja? – Madras Heritage and Carnatic Music“
“Children should grow with joy, courage and freedom and a discipline born out of these attributes. The fundamental principle is joy, suggestion must be the method, the emphasis should be on the imaginative and creative experience of music and teaching should follow a “flow-form-flow” spiral.
VV Sadagopan was clearly in favour of lakshya (aesthetic perception) over lakshana (intellectual abstraction) at school, college or university.” – T.K. Venkatasubramanian in “VV Sadagopan – An educator with a mission”, Sruti Magazine >>
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