Suramani to traditionalists

the hallmark of any culture is its music. and right here in pune, we have a family that has strongly defended erosion of a musical tradition whose roots are said to be in the vedas. nafeesuddin dagar (28) and aneesuddin dagar (27) represent the 20th generation of the dagars, a family that has successfully protected the dagarbani of drupad music for centuries from the onslaught within and outside the country.the duo have recently been awarded the 'suramani' title by the sur singar samsad, mumbai. elder brother nafees says they cannot go wrong because what their father ustad sayyeeduddin dagar taught them has been handed down from generations of musicians dedicated to drupad, its development and dissemination. sayeeduddin dagar happens to be the youngest of the seven great dagar brothers. but have 20 generations interpreted ancient compositions of drupad differently and haven't the compositions undergone alteration? "drupad is the shortened form of sanskrit 'dhruva pada', which means a composition that is fixed in form, content and structure. one may say, feeling of form may have been different in different musicians. as a consequence the presentational aspects may have undergone change. also, it is natural that the approach to improvisation has changed owing to changes in lifestyles," he says. the boys' morning starts very early with a cold water bath and riyaz. this is the time to develop the vocal faculties. the evening ragas and compositions are practised with a pakhwaj player playing in such a way that the boys are forced to err. however, the father's warm presence and the training regimen have made them strong and as unchangeable as the drupad itself. the question foremost in the mind is whether the present generation has the guts to be equal to the task of maintaining tradition? will they be able to withstand the strains of rigorous regimens of old classical forms like the drupad? "what makes you think that drupad is a dying form of music?" is sayeeduddin dagar's spontaneous but strong response to such queries. anees elaborated thus: "we have put at least 20 years of training and are out to perform all over the world. the long years behind us have given that extra strength to resist populist approach to classical music. we follow the tradition without any questions asked as ours is a time tested one 19 generations old, perhaps even more!" as is customary within the dagar clan, the boys first performed publicly at the behram khan dagar drupad sangeet samaroha at the 'ustad behram khan house' in jaipur in 1999. the house, incidentally is their ancestral home, which too has withstood the test of time and tide and stands casting its old-world charm like frozen music. the home is named after the earliest ascendants of the dagar clan -ustad behram khan. for the dagar boys, there has been no looking back as they have enthralled audiences in the country and abroad ever since that performance in 1999. for their dedication and singing skills, anees and nafees received the suramani award from mumbai's sur singar samsad. the award was scheduled to be given to them on august 31 at the karnataka sangh hall (matunga). this is something punekars should feel proud of. the accumulated knowledge of drupad music came to the state through the family of dagars. sayeeduddin's elder cousin, mohiuddin dagar was a great beenkar (veena exponent) and lived in chembur mumbai. today, his son m bahauddin dagar is also a noted beenkar and represents the 20th generation of dagars alongwith anees and nafees. the eldest among the present generation dagars is based in delhi -. uday bhavalkar. uday who is like a son to mohiuddin khan dagar, does not need any introduction today, thanks to his dedicated pursuit, dissemination and delectable presentations of drupad in india and abroad. it is a matter of great pride then that this old indian tradition of music is being guarded by young blood. drupad then will not only live through the young 'dagar brothers' but will also reach newer heights. we as listeners must also play our role by demanding their very best.