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Raga
Todi - Pahadi Miniature
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A Brief
History
Dhrupad is the most ancient form of Hindustani
classical music. There are two interpretations for the word Dhrupad.
One is that it is derived from dhruva, the steadfast evening
star, and pada, meaning ‘poem’. The other is
that the word druva means ‘fixed’ and pada
‘poem’ which makes it into a poem set to music. Its
origins have been traced back to the recitation of the sama
veda, one of the four sacred vedic scriptures. The form developed
through the sama gaan,
the chanted transmission of holy texts. Sometime during the first
millenium A.D. the chanting evolved into the singing of chhanda
and prabandha. The modern Dhrupad is said to have emerged
out of the prabandha style of the 12th to 14th
centuries. By the 11th century it had developed its perfect form.
Dhrupad was and still is an act of worship during which the priest
or musician surrenders to the Divine and invokes the rasa (mood)
of the raga (musical mode). The intention is to put the
listener into a state of inner peace and contemplation. Between
the 12th and 16th centuries the language
of the compositions changed from Sanskrit to Brijbhasha (the language
spoken in the area of Brindavan) and about six centuries ago the
music came under the patronage of the royal Moghul courts, where
it was adapted for performance, thus evolving into a refined and
sophisticated art form. The compositions became more secular though
and were often praises of the emperors, whereas before they had
been devotional and philosophical in nature. One of the patrons
of Dhrupad was the Moghul ruler Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior who
also practiced the art. It reached its peak during the time of
the legendary court musician of Akbar, Tansen, and Swami Haridas,
who is often thought to have been the teacher of Tansen. The most
important schools of Dhrupad are the Dagar and Vishnupur.
The
Form
Like all forms of Indian classical music, Dhrupad is based on
the ancient raga system, a highly scientific system of
musical modes that corrolates the modes with the different times
of the day and the seasons of the year, thus putting the singer
and listener in tune with time and space. A raga is a musical
entity based on a musical mode, an ascending and descending scale
and specific principal notes (vadi, samvadi, nyasa)
that create the mood. Although the musician has an outline on
which to improvise, his/her creative talent and his/her expression
of feeling determines the depth of the musical experience for
the listener. The way the principal notes are approached and embellished
also has a profound effect on the mood wanting to be invoked,
as every note corresponds to a certain emotion. Dhrupad puts great
emphasis on the purity of raga and swara (intonation).
It is typically performed in two parts: the alap (the slow,
gradual development of the raga without percussion accompaniment
that can encompass 2 1/2 octaves) and the bandish or composition,
a poem accompanied by the pakhawaj, a horizontal double-headed
drum, set to a rhythmic meter (tala). The Dhrupad talas
are made up of 7, 10, 12 and 14 beats. Dhrupad emphasizes a slow,
meditative rendition of the alap using sacred Sanskrit syllables
derived from Sanskrit mantras. The alap gradually speeds up with
the introduction of a rhythmic pulse that builds to a point where
the melodic patterns seem to sweep away the singer. The raga
culminates in the intricate musical dialogue of the singer and
drummer playing against or complementing each other during the
bandish which is usually devotional or philosophical in
nature, but may also specify the use of raga, tala,
swara (musical note) and laya (tempo or timing).
During the bandish the singer improvises on the melody
and rhythm.
Despite its evolution, Dhrupad has preserved its pristine, spiritual
nature and we hear this majestic music performed today as it was
more than five hundred years ago.
Some
of the greatest exponents of this grand style are:
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