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Fundamental concepts of Dhrupad excerpts from an article by Ashish Sankrityayan Dhrupad and khyāl are the two forms of classical singing that exist today in North India. Dhrupad, the older form, enjoyed wide popularity till the seventeenth or early eighteenth century, after which it gradually declined with the emergence of khyāl, a more entertaining style. The decline of dhrupad accelerated during the last two centuries, with many of its practitioners switching over to the new form, which progressively increased in popularity and attracted greater patronage. Dhrupad however remained the favoured style in a few imperial courts, mainly in Rajasthan and Bihar, where some dhrupad traditions continued till the late 1940’s, when these states were assimilated into the Indian republic. The period after Indian independence till the present times was a difficult one for this art, for it called into question its very survival in a society in which it was not popular, but needed the patronage of a new ruling class of bureaucrats and politicians who unlike its previous aristocratic patrons, did not understand it at all. There are at present very few practitioners of dhrupad left in India, and as can be expected in such a situation, there is an enormous fragmentation and erosion of knowledge about the art, even among its few remaining practitioners. Lack of knowledge about it has reached a point where it is difficult, even in the literature of music and in musical circles, to find a proper definition of what dhrupad is, and what sets it apart from its modern derivative - the khyāl. It is common in India now to find dhrupad described in terms of the language and the grammar of khyāl. Most descriptions list the obvious structural differences between khyāl and dhrupad and emphasize that in dhrupad, ornaments and melodic devices like murki, khatkā, phirat, and particularly fast passages called tāns, which are characteristic of khyāl singing, are strictly avoided. The decline of dhrupad during the last two centuries coincides in my opinion with a paradigm shift in Indian classical music, in which it came to be accepted that music must primarily entertain. This is a concept that reigns supreme in India today, and therefore precludes any attempts to revive or even initiate a serious study of dhrupad. But the sophistication of the musical concepts underlying dhrupad, and its objective of creating a music that uplifts, but does not necessarily entertain, and that embodies the essence of Indian spiritual thought, has found for it a growing acceptance and admiration in the West. Since the visit of the elder Dagar brothers to the West in the 1960’s and the efforts of Alain Danielou kindled interest in dhrupad, many singers have given performances there, and the number of concerts, workshops and seminars of dhrupad in the West now significantly exceed those in India. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the interest of people in the West has made dhrupad singing, financially a more viable profession for its few remaining practitioners.
to be continued
classifieds Piano Hindsberg http://www.clickindia.com/detail.php?id=366041 Piano Neumann http://www.clickindia.com/detail.php?id=366039
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Ashish Sankrityayan is an exponent of the Dagar Tradition of Dhrupad. He has trained for twenty years under three maestros of the Dagar family and is well known for his frequent concert appearances and teaching.Ashish Started his musical training at an early age, first learning the sitar and subsequently vocal music. While studying mathematics at the University of Bombay he was inspired to take up Dhrupad when he heard a recording of the senior Dagar brothers Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, and met Rudra Veena maestro Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar who initiated him into the art. He later trained under several maestros of the Dagar family for twenty years and was awarded the National Junior Culture Fellowship by the Indian National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama ( the Sangeet Natak Akademi). Ashish has given numerous public performances of Dhrupad and has given lectures and workshops in institutions like the Anton Bruckner University in Linz, The Free University of Berlin, Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, Hildesheim University, University of Copenhagen. He often perfoms with European medieval, renaissance and contemporary musicians.
Forthcoming concerts of Ashish Sankrityayan
7th February AIIMS N. Delhi
29th February IIC New Delhi
8th March Copenhagen
16th March Gentofte (Denmark)
28/29th March Paleziuex(CH)
30th,31st March,1st AprilAberystwith (U.K)
5th April Copenhagen
12th April Copenhagen
18th April Copenhagen
19th April Helsingør (Denmark)
25th April London
23rd April Paris
26th April Northampton
17th May London
18th May Hillerød (Denmark)
18th May Farum (Denmark)
23rd May Stockerau (Austria)
24th May Waldviertel (Austria)
2nd August Hitzacker (Germany)
8,9,10 August Rasa (Tessin CH)
15th August Dronningmoelle(Denmark)
15th August Gilleleje (Denmark)
16th August Copenhagen
17th August Fredrikssund (Denmark)
18th August Frankfurt/Main
10th,11th October Bangalore
14th November San Francisco
15th November Berkeley(US)
15th November Fremont(US)
19th November Salem (Germany)
21st November Roskilde (Denmark)
22nd November Westerhofen(Germany)
29th November Bordeaux (France)
for details pls. see Concerts