The Kings of Dhrupad

by Annalisa Merelli

Dhrupad is the most ancient form of Indian Classical Music. As most Hindustani music, Dhrupad is based on ragas, which Octavio Paz described as "soliloquies and meditations, passionate melodies that draw circles and triangles in a mental space, a geometry of sounds that can turn a room into a fountain, a spring, a pool."

The nature of Dhrupad's compositions is meditative, spiritual: they aim not to entertain, but to induce in the listener a state of peace and contemplation.

Ramakant, Umakant and Akhilesh Gundecha are, both in India and abroad, the most recognized ambassadors and masters of Dhrupad. They are not only extremely talented performers and composers, but, since a few years ago, they also are teachers (and founders) of the first Dhrupad school in the world.

We had the pleasure of sharing with them a slightly surreal dinner at Nizzamuddin Train Station, in New Delhi, a few hours before they caught a flight to go perform in Toronto. They spoke with us about Dhrupad music, its story, its power, and its role in this society.

To begin, how would you explain what Dhrupad is to someone who has never listened to it?

This is not a question you can answer with words. Of course, we can tell you that Dhrupad is the mother of all Indian classical music, and that its description of the ragas, its style of singing, is absolutely unique. But no explanation would be enough. You must listen to Dhrupad to understand its uniqueness. Dhrupad music can't be written nor read, and listening is the only way to know anything about it.

Your repertory doesn't only include traditional pieces, but also compositions in which you sing the verses of famous poets of Indian tradition. What led you to extend the repertory in that direction?

The philosophy and work of medieval poets such as Tulsidas or Kabirdas are as fundamental for Indian culture as Dhrupad is, and we wanted to unite the tradition of literature with our own. Traditionally, Dhrupad musicians used to write their own lyrics, but we felt we could never write anything that would compare to the beautiful poems of Indian history. So we chose some of them, always making sure that they would fit into the spiritual mood of Dhrupad, and decided to sing them.

Why did you decide to open a school to teach Dhrupad?

As heirs of Dhrupad's tradition, our role is not simply to preserve it, but to pass our knowledge to new generations of musicians. Thus the role of our school in Bhopal is to keep Dhrupad alive, handing down its richness to our students.
Our teachings follow the Guru Shishya Parampara method, which is based on individual, one-to-one teachings. Since Dhrupad music is not based on a scale, it can't be written nor read, and there are no books to be studied to learn: the only way to learn it is through continuous listening under the guidance of a guru.
The full course normally takes four or five years, but it's all structured on personal needs and talents, so for some students it ends up being shorter.

Your students come from all over the world to learn Dhrupad: what, according to you, attracts them to such a remote music tradition?

It's definitely, the spiritual side of our music. The practice of Dhrupad deeply puts you in touch with a meditative and spiritual level, and most people approach it looking for that connection. Not only, but Dhrupad music is "natural", in the sense that its full potential is not reduced to a scale: that is an element which people who are interested music find very fascinating.
Plus, in many cases, foreigners who come to India are interested in getting to know the roots of its culture and, music-wise, Dhrupad built the basis of Indian culture.

Do you think that learning and understanding Dhrupad is easier for people of Indian background?

Why should it be? The learning process doesn't depend on where you come from: it's a matter of attitude and talent. There is no need for any special education nor background to appreciate Dhrupad, because it's a music that speaks directly to the soul, to any soul.

Dhrupad derives from Hindu tradition. Does that make Hindu people more likely to be touched by this style of music?

Maybe, but only to a certain extent. Hindus might have a more immediate intellectual connection with the spiritual side of Dhrupad, because in their tradition music has always had a strong meditative power. But our music can speak to people of any religion in the same way. Furthermore, many of the historical masters and gurus of Dhrupad were Muslim, and their compositions are related to their culture, and to the mosque rather than to the temple.

The country is going through a fast process of modernization and westernization that is affecting its traditions: it seems that the new generations are somehow getting detached from their own cultural background. Is that affecting Dhrupad as well? Are people less interested in it now than in past?

Not at all! Surprisingly, the interest for Dhrupad is growing in the past few years. There has been a dark period, but now our music is getting in bright light: listening, practicing and performing are getting more common, and Dhrupad's audience has never been so wide. Plus nowadays the musical career is respected as it wasn't a few decades ago, and more and more youngsters decide to become professional Dhrupad musicians, which helps preserving the tradition, but also spreading it.

How can you explain this increasing interest in Dhrupad?

There are at least two main reasons. One is that, as I said, now more people practice Dhrupad professionally, so there are more performances and concerts, and therefore more people are exposed to this style of music.
The other reason is deeper: people are beginning to be fed up with the shallow reality that surrounds us, and they are looking for meaningful forms of art. And when it comes to classical music, nothing has the spiritual strength of Dhrupad. It's an answer to the quest of music that can purely speak to the mind.

Despite this, most of the population doesn't seem to know Dhrupad at all...

True, but that is not an issue. Classical music has never been really popular, and you can't compare it with light music. A Dhrupad concert will never fill a stadium, but that is just in the nature of the music. We are not rockstars.
In the history of art, numbers never determined the quality, but while every big pop hit sooner or later loses its popularity, classical music has been alive for hundreds of years, and will always be a part of our culture.
This said, of course there is a lot that can be than to promote Dhrupad music.

... for instance?

Well, on one side there are the media, which only focus on the types of music that guarantee profit. Dhrupad is intellectual, not romantic, and is perceived as "difficult", so the media don't give it enough space for the fear that people wouldn't appreciate it. Which is not true: Dhrupad has a sort of charming power, and once people listen to it once tend to ask for more.
On the other side, though, there is our work. We know well that our performances and concerts are very important to spread the knowledge of our music. That is another reason behind our choice to open a school for Dhrupad: more performers mean more concerts, which mean more audience. There is a lot that can be done even simply to a bigger number of performances.

In the past years, there have been attempts of remixing classical Indian music with new light tracks. Do you think that could be a way to spread the knowledge of Dhrupad?

Absolutely not. Dhrupad is a pure form music, and it must be approached in its pure form. Once you remix it with something else, it loses all its essence and its spiritual power. Besides, the only purpose of remixed tracks is profit, there is no serious interest for the music itself. Yes, maybe a successful remixed track reaches more people than an original one, but what those people get in contact with will never lead them to appreciate the pure classical music.

Does this apply to fusion as well?

Fusion is a different matter. It can be good, when it is led by reciprocal knowledge and respect. If a fusion project comes from a serious attempt of deep understanding, then the outcome can be very interesting. But every collaboration must be powerful and enriching, rather than simplify and impoverish the original music.  


Is there any particular musician you would be interested in collaborating with?

For sure famous cellist Yo-Yo Ma. He is a friend, we met last year when he was playing in Delhi, and performed for him. We would love to work with him.