How did the violin enter Carnatic music?

In the popular account, Baluswami Dikshitar (1786 to 1858), younger brother of the composer Muthuswami Dikshitar, brought the violin into Carnatic music after about three years of lessons. The music he heard from British bands in Madras was mostly Irish and Scottish fiddle tunes, and Muthuswami's nottuswara songs on Western melodies are linked to his brother's violin. R. Sathyanarayana of Mysore argued that the violin reached Carnatic music in the Mysore region earlier.

Best-known Indian classical violinists include Lalgudi G. Jayaraman, T. N. Krishnan and M. S. Gopalakrishnan in Carnatic music, and V. G. Jog and N. Rajam in Hindustani music.