Senior Dagar Brothers And Dhrupad Revival

Last year I came across a collection of CDs released by Maharana Kumbha Sangeet Kala Trust under the title "THE ROYAL COLLECTION OF MEWAR". These CDs contained heritage recordings of Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (commonly referred to as the senior Dagar brothers ). These recordings came from the private archives of the royal family of Mewar. It is a treasure to be tasted and retasted and savored for a lifetime. This was my first exposure to Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagars. Since then I have tried to hear as many of their recordings as I could.


For those who are not familiar with the senior Dagar brothers, suffice it to say that they were the torch bearers who changed the course of Dhrupad and redefined the foundations of this tradition. One can get an idea of their magical singing from the following quote from an article written by Jacques Longchamps after their much talked about performance in Unesco International Festival, Paris "...the most extraordinary artistes. First it is only a deep low sound, which seems to come from the earth, a slow pattern in very long sustained notes. This immobile song, sweet and fervent calmly arises...the hands also awake,accompanying the hymn with admirable gestures of prayer,of offerings and thanks-giving" (from Le Monde-Paris 17th Nov 1964)

What Is Dhrupad In The Dagar Tradition (Dagar Bani)

Let me state at the outset that I have had no formal training in Hindustani classical music. Over the years, listening to Hindustani classical music (mostly Khayal ) has been a hobby, and later a passion, which has given me immense joy and pleasure for which I am indebted to all classical musicians-past and present. The whole idea of posting this particular blogpost is to kindle an interest in Dhrupad in other uninitiated persons like me. I feel that this is a great art form, full of melody, rhythm and beauty. It has the ability to transcend the earthly and enter the realm of the heavenly.

A typical Dhrupad performance begins with the alaap which is slow and elaborate development of a raga using free flowing melodic patterns. The elaboration of alaap is done with wordless consonants. The alaap is slow and contemplative in the beginning. Later the tempo increases in stages. In the faster passages playful and vigorous ornaments (gamaks) predominate. The alaap is followed by singing of a composition or dhrupad  with accompaniment of Pakhawaj (ancestor of Tabla) using 7, 10, 12 or 14 beats. The compositions sung in dhrupad are usually of a higher poetic order. Once you get addicted to the dhrupad alaap the words become meaningless and one gets immersed in melodious rhythmic sound.

Decline Of Dhrupad

Dhrupad and Khayal are the two major forms of Hindustani classical music. In the 19th century and early 20th century, the more entertaining Khayal form became very popular and there was a gradual decline of Dhrupad. However the tradition continued in some royal courts, especially in Rajasthan and Bihar. In 1947, when the princely states were merged in the Indian republic, Dhrupad lost it's last remaining patronage. The very survival of Dhrupad became difficult. Many Dhrupad singers having a vast repertoire of compositions died in obscurity and a whole body of composed work of the tradition was permanently lost. It was under such conditions  that Moinuddin and Aminuddin Dagar arrived on the scene.

Early Training Of The Senior Dagar Brothers

In 1936, when their father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan died, Moinuddin was 17 and Aminuddin was 13 year old. Nasiruddin is said to have a premonition of his early death. Hence he started music training of Moinuddin and Aminuddin at a very early age. He trained them for ten years, passing on as much knowledge to them as he could. The brothers received some more training from their maternal uncle Ustad Riyazuddin Khan and their father's cousin Ustad Ziauddin Dagar. Ziauddin was Dhrupad court singer at Udaipur. He could also play Rudra Veena with equal authority. He is considered as an all time great Dhrupad singer. The famous Sarangi player Pandit RamNarayan has recounted his memory of a Mehfil at Lahore, attended by several renowned musicians where Ziauddin gave a Dhrupad performance. At the end of the performance the entire audience was so profoundly moved that one of the greatest Khayal singers in history- Ustad Bade Gulam Ali Khan insisted and became Ziauddin's "Ganda baddha" disciple right then and there. Coming back to the senior Dagar brothers, after a rigorus training of 14-15 years, the brothers were ready to appear on stage.

The Dhrupad Revival

It was the 1940s during which Moinuddin and Aminuddin came, saw and conquered the stage of Indian classical music. In a span of one and half decade they not only breathed a new life in Dhrupad but they also gave a completely new meaning to the tradition of jugalbandi. In Hindustani classical music, jugalbandi or duet performance had degenerated in to a competition between two performers where one tried to out do the other. The senior Dagar brothers redefined jugalbandi as a harmonious synchronization of two performers where the whole was greater than the sum of the parts. The two brothers possessed different temperaments and singing styles. Aminuddin with his rich voice would carry the audience in to a deep meditative mood while Moinuddin sang like king and traded fearlessly  through the kingdom of swaras and was never wary of experimenting. Their fame reached such heights that they were invited to give a performance for Mahatma Gandhi in1946. This was also attended by Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel, Maulana Azad and Sarojini Naidu. They performed alaap and dhrupad in Raga Asavari for two hours. The entire audience including the Mahatma was enthralled by their performance. 

After re-establishing the Dhrupad tradition firmly on Indian soil, they undertook the mission of spreading the Dhrupad tradition overseas. They toured USSR in 1961 and Japan in 1964. In Japan, Alain Danielou, the eminent musicologist and director of UNESCO came across the Dagar brothers and was mesmerized by their singing. He organized the first Europe tour of the Dagar brothers in 1964. They were the first ever Indian artists to perform at UNESCO international festivals of Venice,Berlin and Paris. With reference to this tour, let me quote Alain Danielou "...of all (art) forms only the noblest, the highest and the purest can cross cultural barriers. This tour of Europe, in framework of the biggest festivals and concert halls, was a total triumph". The reaction of media critiques and western audience can be best gauged from the following quote from an article by Jacques Longchamps which appeared in Le-Monde-Paris on17/11/1964 " ...we will remain under the deep impression of an art of such greatness and intensity...we feel touched and moved to the deepest of our beings".

After The Demise Of Ustad  Moinuddin Dagar 

Two years after the triumphant Europe tour, in May 1966, Moinuddin Dagar passed away. Aminuddin felt as if he has been orphaned for the second time. For Aminuddin, the elder brother Moinuddin was also a surrogate father and a guide. He referred to Moinuddin throughout his life as his Mahaguru. After Moinuddin's demise, Aminuddin single handedly continued with the task of popularizing Dhrupad. He gave 40 performances in his Europe and America tour in 1971. He went to the Shiraz festival Iran in 1976 and to the Rome festival of Italy in 1978. In the last years of his life Aminuddin shifted base to Kolkata. First he worked as founder principal of  the Birla Academy Swara Sangam and later to fulfill his dream to propagate Dhrupad in younger generation, he established  Ustad Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram in memory of his elder brother. Ustad Aminuddin passed away in December 2000, bringing an era to an end. Ustad Aminuddin was awarded the Padma Bhushan award (1986), Sangeet Natak Academy award (1985), Swami Haridas award (1979) and D.Litt.from Rabindra Bharati University (1991).

The Lineage

The Dagar family claims 20 straight generations of Dhrupad singers and been players. They consider Swami Haridas (guru of Mian Tansen) as their original ancestor. In this family the brothers Allabande khan and Zakiruddin khan used to sing together. Their descendants adopted the name "Dagar" as their family name after the genre Dagar bani of Dhrupad which they sang. The Dagars are Muslims but sing Hindu texts of Gods and Godesses. They sing hymns from the Vedas and compositions of Jaidev, Tulsidas etc. Allabande khan's eldest son Nasiruddin khan was a court singer at Indore. His sons Moinuddin and Aminuddin are known as the senior Dagar brothers. His younger sons Zahiruddin and Faiyazuddin are known as junior Dagar brothers. Faiyazuddin's son Wasifuddin is also a Dhrupad singer.

About The Royal Collection Of Mewar CDs

Among these CDs, the Pooriya and Piloo Thumri CD is a rare recording of Moinuddin Dagar singing solo. The Pooriya is meditative and worshipful in alaap. The Piloo Thumri  "more sainyaji utrenge paar " is a very rare recording because Dhrupadiyas, especially of the old school hardly ever sing the light classical forms in public. But the flair with which Moinuddin sings this delicate Thumri sets it apart from all other Thumris. Most people consider "piya bin nahi awat cheiin" sung by late Ustad Abdul Karim khan and later by his niece Roshanara as best rendition of Thumri. In my opinion Moinuddin's "morey sainyaji utrenge" surpasses it.
In another CD Megh raag and kaafi ki hori are presented. The rendition of Megh is superb. The gamakas are exemplary. The Hori "kesar ghoul ke rang bano hai" is a class in itself. Normally Hori is sung in a playful and romantic mood. This Hori is totally meditative and contemplative. On the other hand in the same CD "mano mano ji cheil nandlal" (written by Wajid Ali Shah ) is rendered very playfully and exuberantly. This CD really reveals versatility of Moinuddin Dagar .

The Bageshree CD is important because normally Dhrupadiyas do not sing Khayal or tarana in public. But Moinuddin's mastery on this form can be seen in the later part of the CD.
 
In the other CDs, Ragas Bhupali,Shankara, Kambhoji and Miyan ki Malhar are rendered in text book Dagar bani style. The Miyan ki Malhar ends with the composition "Aayi hein ghata umad umad ghumad ghumad" attributed to the legendary Mian Tansen.

Tribute To Late Ustad Moinuddin Dagar 

With no disrespect to other great classical performers, earlier I used to believe that among the singers that I had heard -
1) Late Ustad Amir khan was the most contemplative and meditative singer. 
2) Late Pandit D.V. Paluskar had the most melodius and sweet voice.
3) Late Shrimati Gangubai Hangal was the most aggressive and entertaining singer.


I must confess that I find Late Moinuddin Dagar as the número uno on all the three counts mentioned above. HE WAS THE BEST. I know that comparison between artists,especially when they belong to different genre is meaningless but nevertheless...