India

Finance Minister Unveils ₹250 Coin to Commemorate 250th Birth Anniversary of Carnatic Maestro Muthuswami Dikshitar

By Anjali Thakur

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman released a ₹250 commemorative coin on Tuesday to mark the 250th birth anniversary of Carnatic music maestro Muthuswami Dikshitar. The event took place at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in Varanasi and was organised by the Centre of Excellence for Indian Knowledge Systems at IIT‑BHU, according to a statement from the institute. The coin was issued by the Bank of India (RBI) and was available for purchase at ₹6,985, with 238 pieces listed in stock on Tuesday evening, as noted on the government mint’s website. Such coins are minted in limited quantities from precious metals and are primarily collected as memorabilia.

During the programme, Sitharaman recalled Dikshitar’s contributions to Indian classical music and India’s cultural heritage. She interacted with students and schoolchildren at IIT‑BHU, explaining Indian classical music, musical instruments and their distinctive features. Prior to the event, the minister paid a floral tribute to the statue of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, the founder of BHU.

Sitharaman highlighted the importance of familiarising children with India’s cultural traditions, noting that while digital devices occupy much of their time, participation in cultural programmes offers a different experience and helps children understand their cultural identity. She also spoke about children’s increasing engagement with mobile phones and the value of cultural programmes in broadening their understanding of culture, language, music, literature and art.

The initiative to release the commemorative coin received support from the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) under its corporate social responsibility programme. BSE Managing Director Sundararaman Ramamurthy made a special contribution towards the initiative.

At the event, Banaras Hindu University Vice‑Chancellor Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi and IIT‑BHU Director Prof Amit Patra shared their views on the significance of the occasion and on Dikshitar’s contribution to music. The ceremony also featured Carnatic music performances, including a tribute by vocalist Dr Sumitra Vasudev from Karnataka and a veena recital by Ramana Balachandhran, accompanied by Ganapatiraman on the mridangam and L Ramakrishnan on the violin.

Muthuswami Dikshitar, alongside Tyagaraja and Syama Sastri, is regarded as one of the Trinity of Carnatic music. His compositions, largely written in Sanskrit, combine devotion, Indian philosophy and classical musical traditions. He is believed to have composed around 450–500 works, many of which continue to be performed at classical music concerts. Dikshitar spent a considerable period in Varanasi, where he composed several works dedicated to temples and Hindu deities, a fact highlighted by Sitharaman during the programme.