By Nayla Huq

UCLA's Tom Bradley International Center presented Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar's awe-inspiring performance of the Indian Classical Vocal Music style, Dhrupad, which dates back to the Mughal Emperor Jalaluddin Akbar's reign in the middle of the 16th century, on Saturday, October 18.

Ustad Wasif is lost in his dhrupad raga Courtesy of the UCLA Asia Institute

The UCLA student association, SPIC MACAY, the Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music And Culture Among Youth, and NADA organized this culturally enlightening event. These groups are playing an essential role in assuring the continuous fruition of Indian classical music, and the work of the Dagar family. Nearly extinct half a century ago, the Dagar family took what was left of the dhrupad style and brought it back to life.

Ustad F. W. Dagar is the twentieth generation of dhrupad vocalists in his family. Previous generations consisted of duos. His father and uncle made up the 19th generation, and trained Wasif. The innovative Wasif combines both his uncle's and father's talents in his performance, chanting a duet on his own in an already complex musical composition. Singing two parts simultaneously, his voice reaches beyond human capabilities, achieving an unearthly level.

This godly vocal music floats all around the lopping buzz and hum of two sitar-like instruments called "tanpura," in the beginning part of the performance, which is called the "alap." The tanpura are played by Qamar Dagar and Laurence Bastit. The alap is entirely melodic improvisation free of lyrics that begins in the middle octave, then gradually explores the lowest notes of the lower octave.

The Ustad is entranced by the spirituality of his music Courtesy of newdelhi.net

The second part, the "madhya laya alap," traverses the highest of the two-and-a-half octaves used, which comes to a finish by sliding back down to the middle octave, in which this complex intricate vocalization, called "raga," began.

The alap is followed by another composition, either the dhrupad or the "dhamar", depending on the number and speed of the beats. This time, the vocalization is that of poetic lyrics, accompanied by the "pakhwaj," a single barrel percussion drum played by Mohan Shyam Sharma. "This composition rendition begins with a straightforward recital of the fixed composition, often traditional and ancient, and usually consisting of two parts to four parts from a poetic text." (Courtesy of SPIC MACAY's Program of the performance)

The intimacy and enlightenment was not just felt by the meditating yoga hippies. The Ustad, meaning master and teacher, explained his music and demonstrated the various beats as he sang, gracefully and elegantly showing the music's gestures.

A not-so-recent picture of Mohan Shyam Sharma, the Ustad's trusted Pakhwaj player. Courtesy of surbahar.com

Ustad Wasif explained that the raga was 90% improvisation. The dhrupad, the raga accompanied by the pakhwaj drum, initially follows a distinctive rhythm in conjunction with the vocalization, springing into a pronounced departure from this collaboration, returning to a new one in it's conclusion.

Dhrupad may be a very complex, esoteric type of music, but the talent displayed by the quartet, especially the Ustad and Sharma, are both exhilarating and enlightening experiences that move the soul.

I must admit however, that I was on the edge of my seat during the alap, in anticipation of the dhrupad, not that I really knew what any of these were, but because the thundering drum is the most exciting part of the raga, next to the Ustad's single-voiced duet. Before this presentation, I had only seen ragas accompanying classical dances. My minds eye watched an ornamented court dancer gesticulate and spin about the room, executing the Ustad's vocalizations.

His father's and uncle's concerts and music are the subject of a 1992 French television documentary, "Dagarvani." The Ustad has performed in several European countries and in prestigious American east coast venues. Saturday's performance was his first visit to California, and at the end of his performance, the audience encouraged him to return with the warmth of a family friend.

More information about this historically rooted musical style and Ustad Faiyaz Wasifuddin Dagar can be found at: dhrupad.org

October 24, 2003

http://www.asiaarts.ucla.edu/031024/ustad.html