Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman releases Rs 250 commemorative coin marking 250th birth anniversary of Muthuswami Dikshithar

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday released a Rs 250 commemorative coin marking the 250th birth anniversary of Carnatic music maestro Muthuswamy Dikshithar at Banaras Hindu University BHU in VaranasiThe programme was organised under the Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge Systems at IITBHU according to a statement issued by the instituteSitharaman recalled Dikshithars contribution to Indian classical music and the countrys cultural heritage She also interacted with students at IITBHU taking on the role of a teacher to explain Indian classical music musical instruments and their distinctive features the statement saidBefore the event the finance minister paid a floral tribute to the statue of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya the founder of BHUThe finance minister also interacted with school children and familiarised them with the rich tradition of Carnatic music and the unparalleled contribution of Muthuswami Dikshithar the statement saidShe also spoke about the distinctive features of Dikshitars veena his deep association with Kashi and his stay in the citySitharaman highlighted the importance of taking Indian music and cultural heritage to the younger generationIt is important to familiarise children with Indias rich cultural traditions and heritage from an early age as this helps develop their interest in understanding their cultural identity she saidShe observed that in todays digital age children spend most of their time on mobile phones While there is nothing wrong with this participating in cultural programmes offers you with a different experience Sitharaman saidSuch programmes enable children to gain a closer understanding of the contributions of culture language music literature and various art forms she said adding that it was essential to connect children with Indias rich cultural heritage so that they could also understand the importance of their traditions and artsAt the programme Banaras Hindu University ViceChancellor Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi shared his views on the significance of the historic occasionIITBHU Director Prof Amit Patra highlighted Muthuswami Dikshitars contribution to music and his distinguished place in the tradition of Indian classical musicThe ceremony also featured captivating Carnatic music performancesRenowned vocalist Dr Sumitra Vasudev from Karnataka paid a musical tribute to the great composer through her soulful renditionThis was followed by a veena recital by Ramana Balachandhran accompanied by Ganapatiraman on the mridangam and L Ramakrishnan on the violin The performances introduced the audience to the rich heritage of Carnatic musicThe initiative to release the commemorative coin received support from the Bombay Stock Exchange BSE under its corporate social responsibility CSR programme BSE Managing Director Sundararaman Ramamurthy made a special contribution towards realising the initiativeDikshithar along with Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri is regarded as one of the trinity of Carnatic music His compositions largely in Sanskrit are known for blending devotion Indian philosophy and classical musical traditions He is believed to have composed around 450500 works many of which continue to be performed at classical music concertsDikshithar spent a considerable period in Varanasi where he composed several works dedicated to temples and Hindu deitiesUtkarsh Srivastava of IITBHUs public relations department said the commemorative coin was issued by the Reserve Bank of India Such coins are minted in limited quantities using precious metals and collected as memorabilia rather than used for regular transactionsAccording to the government mints website the coin was available for purchase at Rs 6985 with 238 pieces listed in stock on Tuesday eveningThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever