The project logo (above) shows a black-and-white mandala around a silhouette of Śrī Muttusvāmi Dīkshitar holding his vīnā. (Click on the image to see a larger version.)
The idea of illustrating the logo first occurred when I sketched something similar as a birthday gift for Bala uncle (Dr Balachandran) a few years ago. It was a much smaller version. Uncle suggested using it as the logo for the project.
Legend has it that Chidambaranātha yogin, Dīkshitar’s Guru, asked Dīkshitar to descend a few steps into the river Gangā and accept as a blessing whatever he found. When Dīkshitar did so, his hands closed upon a vīnā, with an unusual feature of its yāzhi (யாழி) facing upwards.
Muttusvāmi Dīkshitar’s _vīnā_ with the unusual, upward-facing yāzhi (யாழி). Source: https://tinyurl.com/y3e6uz4j [Accessed: 19 May 2022.
The usual type of vīnā showing the down-facing yāzhi (யாழி). Source: https://tinyurl.com/y24gdz8y [Accessed: 19 May 2022]
Today, the vīnā resides in Coimbatore, with Śrī Muttusvāmi, who is the sixth generation of Dikshitar’s lineage.
Although I did consider adding colour to the design, I decided to stick to black and white to preserve the simple yet elegant look.
This turned out to be the final version of the logo.
Featured image: The vīnā said to be Muttusvāmi Dīkshitar’s. Source. Accessed: 19 May 2022
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