Smt. Gangubai Hangal
I feel that a base of
Dhrupad is absolutely essential for any student of music. It helps the student to have a
complete grasp over the notes and voice culture. I have has rigorous
training the Dhrupad style, which was a must for a student of Dhrupad in our time I remember learning Dhrupad which did not
only improve my 'sur gyan' but also helped in perfecting my sense of 'taal'.
I owe a lot of my understanding of music to my basic training in this form. However, while
accepting its undoubted strengths, I found it
limited in that a lot of liberties which are allowed in khayal (and which I enjoy) like
'taans' are taboo in the Dhrupad style. Dhrupad, all in all is a great music tradition
which must be kept alive.
Pt. Hari Prasad Chaurasia
Dhrupad is undoubtedly the only 'pure' tradition in Indian music. I belong
to Senia Gharana and my initial training of music was started, in the Dhrupad style. It is
essential for any student to have a base of Dhrupad to become a good musician of Indian
classical music. Sure, it is difficult music but my request to the coming generation of
musicians is that if they are interested in learning true and pure Indian classical music,
they must start with Dhrupad – it is essential, I certainly don't agree with the
concept that Dhrupad is a limited form of music. On the contrary, it is infinitely vast as
compared to the other styles.
I personally owe my popularity and success to Dhrupad as you know, my alap
is very long (perhaps the longest any flutist plays) and this is a valuable treasure which
I received from my Guru Maa – Smt. Annapurna Shankar.
The problem today is that people prefer light melodies. But purity is
essentially in inverse proportion to light music and while the mood of the audience is
important, it is ultimately the quality of the performance which is the most important.
Dhrupad is like Sanskrit – people regard it as difficult. This is not so – it is
just one's involvement with lighter talk that disallows people to appreciate the purest
language of India. I recall in Innsbruck, Austria, once when I was performing, I played an
alaap for about fifty minutes but the people were not satisfied as a result of which in
the second half I played without a tabla accompaniment – with Zakir Hussain on the
tanpura. Dhrupad teachers too have a great duty and responsibility. The future of Dhrupad
seems very bright indeed. It's like a continuous cycle – the depression and the rise.
Not any other thing, but the very purity of this music, makes its extinction impossible.
Ustad. Amjad Ali Khan
Dhrupad is the most
'formal' classical musical tradition – though it would be wrong to say that there was
no music before Dhrupad, e.g. recitations of the Gita, Quran, Ramayana existed for a long
time, but the original form of 'formal music was Dhrupad. I think that folk music and folk
traditions date back even further.
I personally have great regard and admiration for the Dhrupad style
particularly since my father believed only in this style and learnt this style from his
father. After his father's death, he went to Rampur and met Ud. Wazir Khan, the direct
descendant of Mian Tansen and subsequently went to Vrindavan and became his disciple to
learn Dhrupad and the rudra veena. It was in Vrindavan that he met the brothers –
Ganeshi Lal ji and Chukha Lal ji, the direct descendants of Swami Haridas ji from whom he
also learnt Dhrupad and dhamar.
I consider myself extremely fortunate that this great tradition and
treasure was passed down to me by my father. In the olden days, Dhrupad singers were a
place above the rest (they enjoyed a position
similar to Brahmins) and if a person did not have a very good voice, he was given an instrument, which is how instrumental music
evolved.
I personally have equal respect for all style forms, even those that
evolved after Dhrupad like the khayal and thumri, each style is difficult and none can be
considered inferior or superior, and even be compared. Each person saves the cause of
preservation and presentation in his own way. My only fear, at times, is that any music
can get repetitive and this must be avoided at any cost.
My father greatly admired the Dhrupad doyen, Ud.Nasiruddin Khan Dagar
particularly his alaap and in fact what I greatly admired was that a time when Amir Khan
and Bade Ghulam Ali Khan – the great khayal singers – were at their peak in
terms of popularity and following the senior Dagar Brothers – Ud. N.Moinuddin Dagar
and Ud.N.Aminuddin Dagar revived this old form by giving emphasis to different aspects and
were very successful in creating an awareness of, respect and following for Dhrupad.
I strongly feel that we must do something constructive to preserve his
great art form – which is our roots and our tradition. There should be centers of
Dhrupad in every state of this country in order to nurture, preserve and make people aware
of this great heritage – Dhrupad.
Courtesy - Sabina Sehgal , Sundaram Oct. 1988 |
