Down the ages, man has sought to express the stir rings of his soul through art.
The evolution of poetry, painting and other visual arts has been preserved on stone, leaves and paper but music being auditory has no such evidence of its existence.
Ustad Bahauddin Dagar, a torchbearer of an ancient musical tradition, who is in the city of Thiruvananthapuram for his concert shares a light moment with DC.
Son of the legendary Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and nephew of Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Bahauddin was 20 in the line of the Dagarth family and began his training in sitar under his mother, Pramila Devi, at the age of seven.
Reminiscing about his early training he says, “It is not widely known that Rudra veena players start their early training in sitar and graduate to playing the Rudra veena only after acquiring sufficient skills in playing the sitar. The 'sanskaars', were apt for learning music. It is important that the practitioners propagate and teach this form to keep it alive for others to follow."
Dhrupad is the oldest surviving form of Indian classical music and Dagar is synonymous with Dhrupad styles and traditions.
“It is a matter of understanding of the art form and then understanding the limitations of an instrument and its player and then bringing them together. Many artistes in India who used to consider Dhrupad a dead art are now enjoying performing it. With social networking sites and YouTube, younger musicians are discovering it. So, indirectly its popularity is growing," he said.
According to him, not just the money but also the lifestyle is responsible for few musicians.
“Everybody is looking for economic security. If one chooses to play a rudra veena, he is not an entertainer or a showman, he does not play for the audience." Adding, “We in India always talk about music being a spiritual journey. I firmly believe in that."
Ustad Bahauddin Dagar performed on Sunday at Vaylopilly Samskriti Bhavan, and will follow it up with concerts at the Department of Computational Biology, Centre for Development studies and IIST in the coming week.
