A dhrupad concert in an intimate baithak setting at Framingham, MA on September 14 drew praise from connoisseurs of Hindustani Classical music who attended the performance that featured Aliya Rashid from Lahore, Pakistan, Amita Mahapatra from Kolkatta, India and Sukhad Munde on Pakhawaj from Pune, India. The concert entitled “Indo-Pak Friendship Concert” had the two young women performers holding hands with each other while they presented beautiful classical music that touched the hearts of music lovers from Boston.

Dhrupad, the oldest surviving form of Indian Classical music traces its origin to the Vedas. It is primarily used as a form of worship of the divine through offerings of sound or nada through the mode of human voice or rudra veena instrument.  It is a highly  evolved musical form based on sound principles of grammar and aesthetics and for over several centuries, practiced mainly by male performers. Aliya and Amita are torch bearers of the Dagar tradition of Dhrupad singing that has existed over 20 unbroken generations since the time of Swami Haridas Dagur, teacher of legendary singer Mian Tansen.

Aliya and Amita opened the Sep 14 evening concert with alaap, a slow meditative movement that explored Raag Desh in a methodical manner. Endowed with supremely pleasing voices, the two artists took turns to bring out the raga's personality with  care, expertly diverting it away with expertise from closely related Tilak Kamod raga. They navigated effortlessly between myriad microtones and created a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere steeped in melody.  In alaap in middle tempo, also known as Jod, the duo deftly introduced the underlying element of rhythm and displayed superb command over meend(glides) and gamaks(oscillations). In alaap in fast tempo (jhaala), a fusillade of fast note patterns rained down with pronounced emphasis on opening notes of rhythmic phrases. A fine display of varied voice textures and ornamentations established a strong opening of the concert. A Dhamaar “Ayri Ati Dhoom” set to 14 beat Dhamaar taal breathed life into a melodious and picturesque creation of the festival of colors, “Holi” played by Lord Krishna and gopikas. Sukhad's accompaniment on pakhawaj was testament to his fine grooming in the art of sensitive and supportive sangat.

In the second half,  Aliya and Amita presented late night, sombre raga, Malkauns. A detailed alaap, jod and jhaala was followed by two Dhrupad compositions: “Jayati Jaya Jaya Shree Ganesh” set to 14 beat cycle Chautaal and “Shankara Girijapati” set to 10 beat cycle Sooltaal.   The artists once again showed exemplary command on rhythm through their spontaneous and creative interactions with the pakhawaj.
When they finished with the Malkauns rendition, they left the audience wanting for more.

Visually impaired Aliya displayed excellent skills at singing Dhrupad. Amita is a trained Khayal singer with a Master's degree in music from Santiniketan, West Bengal. She has now decided to focus on singing Dhrupad and has trained extensively in the art for over eight years. Both artists are disciples of Padmashree Pandit Umakant Gundecha and Pandit Ramakant Gundecha. They have spent several years living at Dhrupad Sansthan, a non-profit organization started by Gundecha brothers in Bhopal, India. They learned in traditional Guru-shishya parampara and practiced for an average of 8 hours a day and have chosen careers in music. 22 year old pakhawaj accompanyist Shri Sukhad Munde  has also chosen a career in music. He learns the art of singing Dhrupad from the well-known vocalist Shri Uday Bhawalkar in addition to learning the art of playing pakhawaj from his father, the renowned pakhawaj player Shri Manik Munde.

Aliya and Amita have been performing jugalbandis since the last couple years. Amita gave insight into the art of presenting Jugalbandis and said “ While it is a pleasure to sing a jugalbandi, it is also a challenge as it is a spontaneous and creative exercise. One has to pay careful attention to what our partner sings and develop the melody and rhythm pattern in a matching manner that enhances overall presentation.”

Aliya and Amita's three week Dhrupad Jugalbandi tour that started on Sep 14 in Boston will have them perform in New York, Washington D.C, Chicago, Seattle and several cities in  California. It is sponsored by Dhrupad Institute of North America and in part by Learnquest Academy in Waltham, MA. The Framingham concert was attended by about 100 people.

There are very few female Dhrupad singers in the world today and Amita and Aliya can be counted upon as a promising pair who will preserve the Dhrupad tradition and keep its flame alive in the years to come.

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