#darbarfestival | Bahauddin Dagar’s rudra veena adds slow depth to the superb vocals of Pelva Naik. Both are students of the Dagarvani dhrupad, an ancient legacy.
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Learn more about the music:

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar is a torchbearer of the dagarvani dhrupad, known for its patient, meditative approach. He is the world’s leading master of the rudra veena (‘roaring veena’), still considered by many to be the king of Indian instruments. Though rare today, its even, austere tone remains linked with a certain universal purity, close to the essence of Indian classical.

Some trace the Dagar family lineage back to master musicians of the 16th century, and Ustad Bahauddin studied under his father Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and his uncle Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar. He describes the relationship: “His method of teaching was subtle and mysterious...he would give a student a few key phrases that captured its soul. Then he would ask him to work on them till the spirit of the raga revealed itself. And, we did find that once we had mastered the key to a raga, the whole raga opened itself up effortlessly when we sat down to play.”

Bahauddin’s musical style is marked by an unobtrusive eloquence, and he regularly performs with no amplification, harking back to a pre-technological age when musicians played longer and slower. But he also draws creative energy from dhrupad’s status as a living form - it may be India’s oldest surviving style of classical music, but many consider it to be the most highly evolved by virtue of this. He seeks to represent his tradition as a full person, with a reputation for high-quality teaching across the global veena community. Listen to more of Bahauddin here:
-Patdeep (Pt 1) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oC1Vm45zp1E
-Patdeep (Pt 2) | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxtUT8fUOS8

“Once the veena is tuned in keeping with the chosen raga’s features, there is no going back. The microtones start issuing orders. I am neither a religious person, nor an atheist, but I have seen this happening. Veena demands total surrender.” (Bahauddin Dagar)

Pelva Naik is one of India’s few female dhrupad singers, but believes that “gender dissolves once the tanpura starts”. Born into a Ahmedabad family of dancers, writers, and filmmakers, she studied a wide variety of creative forms as a child, including kathak, khayal, miniature painting, and literature in Hindi, Gujarati, and English. At age 17 she found an instant bond with dhrupad when Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar gave a workshop at her school (“it matched my element…like a rediscovery”). She soon became his disciple until he passed away in 2003.

-Jog | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VA6D4sdmuI
-Maru | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX0FMupbjnE
-Tanpura Demo | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI1LsCbNmpo

“I still haven’t figured out [why] people say that dhrupad is a masculine art form, or where that idea comes from...It’s just that on the public platform, men had more exposure...Ustad’s grandmother was a veena player. She used to practice veena at home, and teach the children.” (Pelva Naik)

Recorded at Darbar Festival at Ravenna Festival (Italy) on 24 Jun 2017
Musicians:
Ustad Bahauddin Dagar (rudra veena)
Pelva Naik (dhrupad vocal)
Surdarshan Chana (jori)
-Seetal Dhadhyalla (tanpura)

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