The Enchanting Melody of the Dhrupad
Posted on July 17, 2008 in Art & Culture by Gitanjali
What is Dhrupad?
Dhrupad is considered to be the earliest style of Hindustani classical music managed to survive until today in its original form. The Dhrupad convention is a major heritage of Indian culture. Its name, from dhruva-pada, simply means “refrain”, and today denotes both a form of poetry and a style of music in which the poetry is sung.
History of Dhrupad
Dhrupad originated as devotional singing in Hindu temples and is commonly thought to have a very long history, traceable back to the Vedas themselves. From the Vedas evolved the “Udatt” and “Anudatt” forms of music, which over time, evolved into Dhrupad, probably around two thousand years ago. Under the Mughal rule, it was recognized as court music.
The language of Dhrupad changed from Sanskrit Brij Bhasha sometime between the 12th and the 16th century. The 18th Century saw the beginning of a great decline of dhrupad singing. A new genre, khyal, gained popularity at dhrupad’s expense. It placed fewer constraints on the singers and allowed for displays of virtuosity that were rare in dhrupad.
The Nature of Dhrupad
Dhrupad is entirely spiritual in nature. It is modal, with a single melodic line and no harmonic parts. The modes are referred to as ragas, each of which is a set of intricate melodic rules. The composition is sung to the rhythmic accompaniment of a pakhavaj. One significant characteristic of Dhrupad is the emphasis on maintaining purity of the Ragas and the Swaras.
Styles of Dhrupad and Popular Artists
There are said to be four broad stylistic variants of dhrupad – the vanis (or banis): Gauri (Gohar), Khandar, Nauhar, and Dagar. The most well-known gharana is that of the Dagar family. Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar were two senior Dagar-Brothers. Dagar family lore speaks of twenty generations of dhrupad singers in an unbroken line. Some of the best dhrupad singers outside the Dagar family, such as Pt Ritwik Sanyal, Uday Bhawalkar, Gundecha Brothers and Nirmalya Dey belong to the Dagar vani.
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