Fading Strains

As we enter a small music room,the walls of which are lined with sepia photos of generations of musicians,42-year-old Wasifuddin Dagar,grandson of late Nasir Aminuddin Dagar tunes his tanpura. He runs his fingers over its tightly-drawn strings,adjusts the ivory beads at the end of its stem and sings Raga Yaman Kalyan along with his two cousins Nafessuddin and Aneesuddin. The notes waft through the air,remain suspended and then flow into a hypnotic drone. The Shiv-Hari stuti is sung in reverence of Lord Krishna and Shiv and is a composition by Wasifuddins father Faiyazuddin.

Wasifuddin is the direct descendant of Swami Haridas,the legendary musician who was a 16th century dhrupadiya and saint who taught Mian Tansen. Haridass style was called the Dagarvani style,which developed from Gwalior,under Raja Man Singh Tomar,and has passed down to generations in the Dagar family. Today,the Dagars remain the oldest family practising dhrupad,apart from Gundecha Brothers,who also trained under the senior Dagar brothers.

For the last 80 years,the term Dagarbandhu,even for the philistines,has been synonymous with the names of Ustad Nasir Moinuddin and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar,whose jugalbandi was the toast of music soirees of the 60s. Dhrupad is a style of rendering a raga under a rigid composition and rhythm structure,and is sung or played on a rudra veena with a pakhawaj and tanpura. We never use the tabla,since a pakhawaj suits the notes more and improvisation is made strictly under the mathematical system of tala. Also,dhrupad is a more rigid form than khayal or thumri in which the rhythm can vary. It isnt folk and erotic like a thumri and does not have taans and sargams like a khayal, says Wasifuddin. He is also trying to teach this complicated form to his 16-year-old nephew Barkat,the youngest member of the family.

But for the last two decades,dhrupad has been struggling to survive. Despite the onslaught of Westernisation,dhrupad has survived,and our family is a testimony to that. But I am not sure if it can survive further. Classical music was always for a certain classes and that class seems to be in a decline, rues Wasifuddin. Dhrupad is considered a more mellow art form,which is only enjoyed by those who understand it. With its complex grammar and aesthetics,it is primarily a form of worship,in which offerings are made to the divine.

Wasifuddin recounts that the familys forefathers were mostly priests at temples,beginning with Swami Haridas,or court musicians under the reign of Hindu kings in Gwalior. Once when a Hindu king and his court musician a family ancestor was captured by one of the Mughal emperors,he was asked to sing in the Mughal court. But when the musician asked for the release of his king,the emperor told him to convert to Islam. Out of loyalty to his king,the musician and his family converted. I really like the secularism of the family. Lyrics and their pronunciation are extremely important when it comes to dhrupad. So if I am singing a dhrupad piece in the praise of Lord Krishna,I need to know the history and the details of our religious scriptures, says Wasifuddin,who pores over Hindu religious texts to understand the meanings of words. The family still holds Saraswati pujas in their neighbours houses,and celebrates Holi and Janmashtami apart from offering the namaz,five times a day. That is how it has been for years now, says Wasifuddin.

Despite its secular leanings,dhrupad has been unpopular for quite some time in India. Wasifuddin believes that inadequate promotion and the improper way it is taught at universities are to blame for its neglect. He also accuses music companies and music conferences for the downfall. Music companies do not trust us at all. The last time any of our family members recorded with an Indian company was in the 80s. It was a rare album,where I sang with my uncle. It was never republished, says Wasifuddin.

Another dhrupadiya,who represents the gharana is rudra veena exponent Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagars son,Bahauddin Dagar. Zia Mohiuudin is Wasifuddins paternal uncle and is credited with the resurrection of the instrument,and featured in Mani Kauls documentary Dhrupad. Bahauddin,who lives in Mumbai,isnt looking for big concerts for the rudra veena an ancient string instrument that has few practitioners. Rudra veena was always a chamber instrument and was never meant for large audiences,so I only look at private concerts. I have very few dedicated students,who I am not sure,will be interested in taking up the instrument professionally. Even if they do,how many will earn a living? says Bahauddin.

The only place that has had a dedicated audience for dhrupad is not close to India. Unfortunately,it is Paris. My own country will not value this art form. But Europe,especially Paris,has a dedicated audience which appreciates dhrupad,says Wasifuddin. A handful of albums that he has managed to cut are with European companies like MusicSense and Jecklin and Co. Wasifuddin recently returned from Paris after a couple of concerts there. The audience is more mature there. They make an effort to understand this complicated art form,unlike here,where if people do not hear any fast taans,they start to give you a tough time, he says.

The family,however,has not compromised to survive,by agreeing to collaborate. There was never any tamashebazi as far as music was concerned. We have always worked quietly. I am not going to taint the purity of this art form,by way of collaboration, says Wasifuddin,who wants to garner funds for dhrupad concerts and create a position for dhrupad artists in universities. It is all about the shoddy treatment meted out to dhrupad. Khayal gayaks are invited to teach dhrupad,which is strange because it is a different art form all together. Even we sing khayal,but we wouldnt present a khayal as a part of a performance, says Nafessuddin.

Major Indian music conferences also dont have dhrupad concerts. An annual five-day dhrupad festival,held in March on the Tulsi Ghat of Varanasi,is the only surviving festival dedicated to dhrupad,and is funded by the Royal House of Benaras.

Concerts dried up long ago and the Padma Shri conferred on him last year has not helped much in increasing dhrupads popularity. For Wasifuddin,the biggest blow,however,comes from the dip in the number of students learning dhrupad.

Outside of Delhi,the family faces similar struggles for survival. Wasifuddins uncle,73-year-old Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar,lives in a rented apartment in Pune. It is a small place that we can barely afford, says Nafessuddin,Sayiuddins son. The musician was promised a house by the state government in 1989 but was considered ineligible as he hadnt spent 15 years in the state. An application sent in 1999 was rejected as well. They wanted my father to produce a certificate from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs proving that he was a musician. That was extremely insulting. We never applied again, says Nafessuddin. Wasifuddin has also been struggling with the Asiad village house. Producing all the papers every three years,and to go through the drill of proving that we are musicians,is quite tedious, he says.

Wasifuddin confesses that the phrase dying art has been thrown at them before. It was even used when my father and grandfather used to perform. My family sustained the art form. I am going to try and do the same and not let it become a museum relic. My legacy does not need me. To survive today,I need it, says Wasifuddin.