Dhrupad, the oldest living classical North Indian music tradition tracing roots to one of the ancient Hindu scriptures known as “Sam Ved” has survived for centuries and is on a steady path to revival all over the world. Deriving its from the words “Dhruva”, named after the steadfast pole star whose position stays fixed in our galaxy and “pad” meaning a poem, Dhrupad can be sung and played on instruments.

Padmashri Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha who sing the Dagar Vani style of Dhrupad accompanied by their brother, the pakhawaj percussionist Pandit Akhilesh Gundecha visited Boston in mid-April to conduct an intensive Dhrupad music workshop and to present a Dhrupad concert. Dagarvani, practiced by musicians of the Dagar family has the unique distinction of maintaining an unbroken lineage for over 20 generations of Dhrupad practitioners. Disciples of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin and Zia Fariduddin Dagar, the Gundecha brothers have performed all over the world, have won numerous awards and recognitions and have contributed to Dhrupad by incorporating poetry of contemporary poets such as Mahadevi Verma and Padmakar Nirala into Dhrupads that they have composed.

Commencing on the evening of April 19 at the residence of Lexington based Harvard University professor, Dr. Akash Deep and continuing as day-long workshops on April 20 , 21 and 22, 2018 a Dhrupad intensive workshop was organized at Learnquest in Waltham, MA with group as well as individual learning sessions led by vocalist duo Pandits Ramakant and Umakant Gundecha and the Pakhawaj maestro Shri. Akhilesh Gundecha. This was the second time a Dhrupad musical retreat was organized in Boston. 25 students that included vocalists and instrumentalists attended the workshop this year. They learned the science of voice production, development of ragas and Dhrupad compositions in ragas Kaafi, Bageshri and Jog. Twelve young children also attended a 90 minute long workshop on Sunday, April 22 and learned a dhrupad in raga Charukeshi taught by Pandit Umakant Gundecha.

Following the workshop, on the sunny and warm evening of Sunday, April 22, the Gundecha brothers unleashed the power and potential of three of the ragas taught to the students during the workshop in a concert held at the Center of Arts and Wellness in Westboro, MA.  Surf-boarding on enormous reserves of breath, the Gundecha brothers painted vibrant soundscapes with their renditions of ragas Bageshri, Jog and Charukeshi, infusing the atmosphere with peace and tranquility. The majestic voices of the two maestros explored the ragas systematically, using harmony and counterpoint via detailed Dhrupad alaap, jod, jhaala, compositions and spontaneous improvisation. Using meend (glide) and gamak (oscillation) as ornaments, the brothers navigated the landscape of ragas deftly with intricate and subtle  application of shrutis (microtones) in raga development. Taking turns, they indulged the audience with a fine demonstration of rhythmic interplay of words with spontaneous and simultaneous improvisation on the pakhawaj by Pandit Akhilesh Gundecha.

The Dhrupad compositions presented at the concert had lyrics in Sanskrit, Braj bhaasha and Bundeli set to twelve beat cycle Chautaal (Raga Bageshri compositions), eleven beat cycle Rudra taal (Raga Jog composition) and ten beat cycle Sooltaal (Raga Charukeshi composition) and included a beautiful poem, “Jheeni Jheeni Beeni Chadariya”  by medieval saint poet Kabir as the final concert offering of the evening.  The resonant sound of a well tuned pakahawaj and tanpura drones accompanying the artist duo charmed the audience the entire evening. An attendee of the Dhrupad workshop and concert, Rebecca Gray, summarized the sentiment of all attendees (some of who had traveled from out-of-state to attend the workshop and concert) when she said “I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to learn from our Gurujis, the Gundecha brothers, who are masters of the subtle art of Dhrupad singing as well as of the science of sound.”

In the recent years, the Gundecha brothers have successfully conducted several annual musical retreats in Boston, Wayne, Seattle and Montreal in Canada organized under the aegis of the non-profit organization, Dhrupad Music Institute of America (DMIA, USA). The city of Los Angles is the new addition for the intensive Dhrupad retreat locations in 2018. The Gundecha brothers routinely conduct such retreats in Europe and have also established several Dhrupad schools in India in cities like Hyderabad and Bengaluru where Dhrupad festivals are being held on a regular basis. The passion, zeal and fervor with which the Gundecha brothers teach music and model Dhrupad singing through live performances is truly commendable. Their work has brought meaning and beauty to the life of many music listeners and Dhrupad aspirants including myself. Many thanks to DMIA (Dhrupad Music Institute of America), LearnQuest for organizing the Dhrupad workshop and to the Center of Wellness and Art for organizing the Dhrupad concert. The memory of these events are certain to stay etched in the minds of music lovers in Boston for a long time to come.

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