Mahaganapatim Manasa Smarami

Two lines of pallavi and four of charanam, and the whole kriti is done in a few minutes, which is why it so often opens a concert in Nata, a raga held auspicious for beginnings. It carries the mudra ‘Guruguha’ and is sung everywhere as Dikshitar’s. Some scholars note that it is not among the kritis printed in Subbarama Dikshitar’s Sangita Sampradaya Pradarshini (1904) and question the attribution; the tradition of singers holds it to be his. Either way it is learned early, and its picture of Ganesha as lover of poetry and drama suits a song that opens an evening of music.