Dhrupad Yoga — Singing To

courtesy gundecha brothers gundecha courtesy SACRED MUSIC Dhrupad Yoga — Singing to God The Gundecha brothers carry forward an ancient musical yoga tradition of sacred song rooted in the Vedas that invokes God as Nada Brahma and awakens the soul by dr. k.k. chawla, alabama, usa was the main form of North Indian classi- village near Delhi (hence the name Dagar). here is little that can prepare one cal music. It was sung in temples from early But the grandsire of them all, everybody for the musical genius of the Gunde- times and later in royal courts. Some consider seems to agree, was Baba Gopal Das Pandey cha brothers. They sit cross-legged on it India’s oldest musical form. Its patrons of Jaipur, who broke caste rules by accepting Tthe stage in elegant, matching Indian were the kings of the Indian princely states; paan from Mohammad Shah Rangeel. Os- outfits, framed by a pair of tamburas that rise the name Raja Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior tracized by his community, he converted to from behind, their drummer by the side. The stands out as one such regal patrons. Islam. Thus, all the Dagars are the progeny of experience starts with quiet vocal ornaments, In the first half of the 20th century, dhru- Pandey Brahmins. first from one and then the other, gentle lilt- pad was in danger of extinction. With the The Dagars are credited with reviving ings passed back and forth with exquisite loss of royal patronage, it gradually gave dhrupad music with distinction. They are subtlety. They are two, yet one, so attuned, so way to a more free-form style called khay- known for the deeply spiritual and medita- aware of the other. Hand and arm gestures, al. Around the 1940s, Hindu music shifted tive quality of their music. In particular, they like graceful mudras, seem to summon the paradigms from being a form of worship have sparked a revival of the Dagarvaani sounds from impossibly deep, athletically and yoga to a performance/entertainment (sometimes spelled as Dagarbani) style of trained inner chambers. The opening com- art. Few recordings of religious artists were dhrupad. Their disciples, though few, are plete, they take flight, soaring into a spiritual made. By the late 90s most great geniuses of continuing the tradition. Today’s leading space that has them singing, now together, dhrupad and other schools of sacred music exponents are the three Gundecha brothers, now alone, back and forth, carrying us on had passed on. A vast repertoire of Hindu who are direct disciples of Ustad Zia Faridud- wings of astounding synchronicity and soul- music and the knowledge of the intricacies of din Dagar and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. stirring devotion. If that seems hyperbolic, the art went with them to their funeral pyres. Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are the simply sit in the presence of the Gundecha two vocalists; the third brother, Akhilesh, brothers (or hear them sing to God Siva on Saving an Ancient Tradition plays pakhawaj, the long drum. YouTube (bit.ly/shivashiva). If this be not Fortunately, efforts by a few proponents A performance of two musicians together sacred sound, it’s as close as embodied be- from the Dagar family have led to the revival is called a jugalbandi. This art form was ings will ever get. Where does this melodic and popularization of dhrupad in India and perfected by Moinuddin and Aminuddin magic have its source? In the ancient tradi- in the West. The Dagars trace their brah- Dagar, two brothers who changed the tech- tion called dhrupad. minical lineage back twenty generations to nique from a counterpoint to a harmonious Until about two centuries ago, dhrupad the 16th century, to one Brij Chand of Daguri blend of both voices. The Gundecha broth- 68 hinduism today october/november/december, 2012 courtesy gundecha brothers gundecha courtesy Musical yogis and teachers: (left) in a chanting used only three notes. Eventually Understanding Dhrupad performance, the Gundecha brothers’ minds this evolved into the present system of seven The Dagar school teaches that the artist must are on God; (above) the Gundecha broth- notes, points on a continuum of microtonal master nada yoga, which includes unfolding ers committed to passing the tradition of variations. The term used for classical music through the chakras, our spiritual force cen- sacred music on to the next generation. Here in Sanskrit is shastriya sangeet—music that ters. In the alap (or improvisational, part of Umakant teaches at the Sansthan in Bhopal is based on fundamental traditional princi- the singing), the attentive listener will notice where students come from many nations. ples found in the shastras. It is rooted in the that the sound, or nada, starts from the navel spiritual concept of Nada Brahma, God (the region and moves upward through the throat Absolute) in the form of sound. The primor- to the palate. Dhrupad singing requires in- ers are masters of jugalbandi. They sing with dial sound, Pranava, is Om. So, dhrupad is a tense practice and a mastery of nada yoga to eyes usually closed, their voices exquisitely form of yoga—namely nada yoga, merging produce a palette of sounds, like the palette matched in tone and range. A listener can- with the Divine through sound. of colors a painter uses to produce a painting. not tell where one starts and the other leaves. The word dhrupad is derived from dhruva Proficiency in nada yoga enables singers The result is an incredibly spiritual and satis- and pada. Dhruva means “fixed.” For ex- to produce vast combinations of notes and fying experience. ample, the pole star is called dhruva tara; its tones, by flowing the sound freely along the Continuing the age-old tradition of guru- position in the night sky is fixed, while oth- navel-to-head axis (the navel, heart, throat, shishya parampara, the brothers have set up er stars move across the sky. Pada means a lips, tongue, teeth and the head). This art a residential gurukul-type institution called part, composition or a stanza. Thus, dhrupad comprises both aadhar nada (sound pro- Dhrupad Sansthan (Institute) in Bhopal, In- translates as a fixed musical composition. duced by vibration of vocal chords) and dia. The basic philosophy is that true teach- Many dhrupad performers make the point niradhaar nada (inner sound of the body ing cannot be achieved just through formal that they do not perform to entertain the au- developed by breathing). These two sub- lectures, books, distance or online learning. dience; their singing is more a never-ending sounds are produced in union. This elaborate Teaching has an important nonverbal com- quest toward the Godhead. cultivation of the niradhaar nada makes ponent, learning by osmosis, dhrupad unique among all of transmission from the guru India’s musical forms. The mas- to the student when both live ter of nada yoga uses these ener- under the same roof. I visited gy channels and plays his entire the gurukul in December, 2011, navel-to-head vocal instrument, met with the brothers and wit- called gayatri veena, to produce nessed a public performance by divine sound. them and their students. These A person accustomed to students, some from overseas, Western classical music, where undergo a rigorous and inten- rhythm and harmonics are the sive training. They observe a main characteristics, should vegetarian diet, get up at 5am leave that baggage behind when every morning and go through listening to Indian classical mu- a strict regimen throughout the sic, especially dhrupad. Here the day. It is an arduous, total im- notes are not treated as fixed, mersion in dhrupad virtuosity. brothers gundecha courtesy discrete points, but as fluid en- Rescuers of an ancient Hindu art: The Dagar brothers, tities with infinite microtonal Rooted in the Vedas Moinuddin and Aminuddin, singing in Bombay in the 50s or early shades, resulting in deep me- Indian classical music traces 60s. Dhrupad is a Hindu tradition, and most songs praise Hindu lodic nuances. My suggestion its roots to the chanting of the Deities. Many singers’ families, patronized by Mogul rulers, were for anyone wanting to really ex- Vedic hymns. The earliest Vedic assimilated into Islam over time. perience dhrupad music is to sit october/november/december, 2012 hinduism today 69 courtesy gundecha brothers gundecha courtesy Taking dhrupad to the world: the Gunecha brothers (left to right) Akhilesh, Ramakant and Umakant perform in Toronto, Canada comfortably in a quiet place with eyes closed, ditionally enters to accompany the singing. been made by Nancy Kulkarni (née Lesh), a paying attention to the subtle variations. I The split-second understanding between Canadian and erstwhile professional cellist listen to it when I do hatha yoga. Dhrupad the vocalist(s) and the pakhawaj player is who now lives and performs in India. Anoth- should not be played as mere background unbelievable. er instrument that I find very moving is sur- music. bahar, a bass sitar of which Pushpraj Koshti A typical performance of dhrupad, like Variations on a Theme is a great exponent. The Gundecha Brothers other forms of Indian classical music, starts Besides Dagarbani, there are other styles have recorded with him. with the alap, a slow, non-rhythmic, con- of dhrupad singing, such as ashta chhap templative development of the raga, the ba- sangeet or haveli sangeet. These devotional A Satsang of Devotion sic modal form or scale. Gradually Though they are rising stars in the the tempo increases, and faster field of music, the Gundecha broth- passages often include playful and ers maintain the Hindu artists’ tra- vigorous ornamentation. In the dition of being humble devotees Dagarbani style of dhrupad, com- of God.

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