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In young generation there are four musician in Dagar tradition. Mohi Bahauddin
Dagar is ( son of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar ) is a only Rudra Veena player in young
generation . He is carrying forward the tradition of his father in true manner. Wasifuddin
Dagar (son of Faiyazuddin Dagar)is a very important singer of young generation and he is
known for the style which he has adopted from his father and uncle Ustad Zahiruddin Dagar.
Aneesuddin and Nafeesuddin Dagar (both son of Ustad Saiduddin Dagar) have started giving
performance in Jugalbandi last year and there is a great hope that they will becomea great
performers of Dagar tradition.
Musical
features of the Dagarvani:
The Dagarvani's forte is the alap. As we
make the myriad tonal patterns in alap and Dhrupad, we directly experience the joy it
occasions. It frees us from tension. It relates us to what existentially supports us and
surpasses us. As one hears the alap, one glides from here to eternity. The dagarvani alap
brings into play each and every note in the raga in all three registers. The vacillations
on each note are so subtle, so deep that they become hardly noticeable to the unskilled
and untrained ears.
The voice culture of the dagarvani is
especially delicate. There is a fluidity in its expository style and a feeling of
expansiveness. This is done, in addition to the tone shades, by dividing each tone into
several microtones (ananta sruti). The correct use of these microtones take many years of
training for the musical ears.
The main art of dagarvani singing lies in
the merukhand alap, which is structured on ten finesses (svara-laksana-s) artistically
named akar, dagar, dhuran, muran, kampita, andolita, lahak, gamak and sphurti. The akar is
a round finesse around each note. The alap begins with its guiding figure-word around the
sadja.
After the akar is established, the singer
proceeds to weave zigzag patterns of note-permutation. The typical phrases of the raga is
woven out: this is called the dagar, which literally means the pathway. The Dagars give
the imagery of tracks traversing mountainous areas.
When the singer expounds the sruti-s in a
round and ascending order, these make the dhuran. When the round melodic patterns return
to a more sounding note in a descending order, the process of recession is called muran.
The technique of dhuran-muran is somewhat akin to the gamaks named ullasita and namita as
enumerated in Sangita Ratnakara of Sarngadeva. This artistry conforms to the mizarb and
java of string-instruments, the rudravina and the rabab.
In been-playing, the tender feelings of
the notes are pronounced by plucking the wires on the fret. The vocalists produce this
effect on the vocal cord by sensitive modulation called the kampita. When such a
modulation is on swinging or wavy nature by the ascent and descent of notes, it is
andolita.
In lahak, the Dagars make notes travel in a lashing manner with some
breath-force. In gamak, the notes spring with a modulating force and are articulated with
rounded lips. In haddock, the articulation is heavy and the notes are pulled upwards with
extra breath force creating a hum sound, it resembles the humphita described by
Sarnagadeva. In the final phase of the alap the sphurti is performed. This is rendered in
a very fast tempo, consisting of several rhythmic variations in the jhala movement.
The playing on Rudravina has isomorphic
characteristics enumerated above. In the Dagar tradition, singing and Vina playing have
always been together one complementing the other. The singer has borrowed many subtle
nuances from been playing and beenakrs have imitated the good qualities of the singer. In
fact all good beenkars were well trained singers. Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, who was the only
beenkar in the family then, is an excellent vocalist though he does not sing publicly.
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