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Spiritually elevating music
Umakanth Gundecha and Ramakanth Gundecha.
IT WAS a unique experience to listen to the music of the Gundecha Brothers, who performed in Chennai recently. The singing, dhrupad style, was divine and one felt lifted to a more elevated state of mind. It was not just another good concert. It was more like a prayer. Rightly so, for the word Dhrupad is derived from Dhruva, the evening star, and Pada means poetry. It is music with Bhakthibhava which traces its origin to the ancient text of Sama Veda, which actually is chanted in melodic rhythm and hence is known as Samagana. Gradually this developed into other vocal styles called Chanda and Prabanda with the introduction of verse and meter. The fusion of these two elements led to the emergence of Dhrupad.
By the 11th century Dhrupad music crystallised into a form that is the oldest surviving style of Hindustani classical music. The Khayal, Thumri, Ghazal and the Bhajan evolved later. The nature of Dhrupad music is spiritual. It induces feelings of peace and contemplation in the listener. In Dhrupad style of singing, the emphasis is on maintaining the structure and purity of the ragas and swaras. The style of singing is akin to Ragam, Thanam and Pallavi of Carnatic music. The accompanying instrument for Dhrupad singing is the percussion instrument, pakhwaj, which looks more like the mridangam.
It is believed that Dhrupad was originally sung only in temples, and later moved to the Royal Courts when Kings started patronising the musicians. With this, the compositions became more secular, in the sense, apart from singing the praise of Gods, some were written on the glory of the Kings. Umakanth and Ramakanth Gundecha are the country's leading exponents of Dhrupad.
They are continuing the good work of the Dagar Brothers. The other renowned Dhrupad maestros are vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduaddin Dagar, Ustad Zia Mohinuddin Dagar on the Rudraveena and Falguni Mitra, the vocalist. Uday Bhawalker is yet another young artiste. The Gundecha Brothers, the most active young performers of Dhrupad at home and abroad, are striving to propagate this style of singing. The Dhrupad Institute in Bhopal, started by them, aims to sustain and promote this rich heritage through the guru-sishya parampara. This Gurukul is the first of its kind for Dhrupad in India.
In addition to giving scholar ships to students, the institute also offers general courses for learning Dhrupad, music appreciation courses, seminars and workshops for music lovers. They also train in yoga and meditation based on Dhrupad.
PUSHPA LAKSHMAN
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