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Lineage Of Dhrupad - Sayeeduddin Dagar . |
Sayeeduddin Dagar- Vocal
Aneesuddin Dagar - Vocal support and tanpura
Nafisuddin Dagar - Vocal support and tanpura
Uddhavrao Apegoankar - Pakhawaj
1. Raga Bhairav - Alap 34.04
2. Raga Bhairav - Jor/ Jhalla 9.24
3. Raga Bhairav - Dhrupad in Sadara (10 beats) 8.13
4. Raga Gunakali - Dhrupad in Tivra (7 beats) 5.07
5. Raga Komal Rishabh Asavari in (Sooltaal)10 beats 3.51
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Sayeeduddin Dagar hails from a family whose name is synonymous with the art of Dhrupad singing. He represents the nineteenth generation of Dagar musicians who since the mid 18th century have managed to maintain this great cultural treasure in the face of all adversities. Sayeeduddin was born in 1939 in Alwar, Rajasthan. He began his life-long grooming with his father, Hussainuddin Dagar at the tender age of six, but has benefited from guidance from uncles and cousins of the family, all excellent musicians in their own right. The continuity of the tradition is evident in this recital with vocal support provided by his sons Aneesuddin and Nafisuddin Dagar who are now set to carry the mantle of their forefathers.
Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of Classical music in India and traces its origins to the chanting of Vedic hymns and mantras. Though a highly developed classical art with a complex and elaborate grammar and aesthetics, it is also primarily a form of worship, in which offerings are made to the divine through sound or nada. Fundamental to Dhrupad singing is the practice of Nada Yoga, in which, through various yogic practices, the singer develops the inner resonance of the body, and can make the sound resonate and flow freely through the entire region from navel to head. In Dhrupad of the Dagar tradition the notes are not treated as fixed points, but as fluid entities with infinite microtonal shades.
Dhrupad singing evolved from the singing of prabandhas in the medieval period, and like the writings of the bhakti saints of the time, it is suffused with a mystical devotion to God. It later received the patronage of the Mughal court, and its survival to the present times owes much to the support of its various royal patrons. Despite a decline in its popularity over the last two centuries, Dhrupad is still considered to be the purest of all classical forms, and its treatment of ragas is still taken to be the ideal one. The music is deeply spiritual and meditative.
North Indian Raga music is time based. All ragas have an association with specific times of the day or seasons of the year. The root of this practice is not clear but there is no doubt that nearly all serious artists adhere to this custom in their performance and very often in their practice too.
This recital was recorded on 10th January 2004, at a special session captured in the early hours of the morning from 3.30am onwards. The ragas chosen are a reflection of the time of performance. The recording also reflects the great stamina of the artist who recorded this music only a couple of hours after a major live performance at the Saptak Festival.
Sayeeduddin Dagar first sings Raga Bhairav, which is said to be one of the six original ragas of Indian music.
He begins in the traditional manner with the Alap, which is a slow and elaborate development of the raga using free flowing melodic patterns. The elaboration of Dhrupad alap is done using the syllables of mantric phrases like 'hari narayan om, a-re-ne-na, noom' etc.
The phrases of the Dhrupad alap are slow and contemplative in the beginning, but the tempo increases in stages, and in the faster passages playful and vigorous ornaments predominate. Dhrupad alap portrays a vast range of human emotions: serenity, compassion, sensuality, pathos, strangeness, anger and heroism with subtle shades of them all. The alap is followed by a composition sung to pakhawaj accompaniment. The dhrupad composition 'Aadi Madh Ant Shiv' (track 3) is a Sanskrit hymn in the style of the times of the Upanishads, the treatises that deal with ancient Hindu knowledge. It sings praises to the God Shiva, the destroyer, responsible for change not only in the form of death and destruction but in positive sense of shedding old habits.
'Shiv, who relishes in devouring time is the beginning (aadi), middle (madh) and end (ant)'
The barrel shaped pakhawaj plays a rhythmic time cycle of ten beats, known as Sadara. Throughout the composition the accompanist Uddhavrao Apegoankar, gets plenty of opportunities to improvise freely, all the time conscious of the rhythmic framework.
'Bajey Bajey Dhamaru' (track 4) is a Sanskrit dhrupad set in Raga Gunakali, a pentatonic (five notes) morning raga which also sings the virtues of Lord Shiva. These compositions demonstrate how the Muslim music community has contributed to the preservation of Hindu religious verse. The song is a request for Shiva to play the Dhamaru, an hour glass shaped drum which accompanies his awesome dance.
'Shiva's drum resounds His own name. With Trident (Trishul) in his hand, ash smeared body and the great necklace of the poisonous snake. He represents cosmic mystery.'
The third composition in Raga Komal Rishabh Asavari, 'Aan Suniye Bansuri Kanha', is in the old Hindu language 'brij bhasha', and celebrates the flute playing of the youthful Lord Krishna.
'Radha, the sweet lass of Brij, sprang out into the open not able to resist the mellifluous flute of her beloved Krishna.
Little Krishna's playful pranks leaves her distraught, the naughty little lad pulls apart her necklace of pearls.
While other lasses corner him for a glimpse, Radha is left searching her pearls'.
Notes: John Ball
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