Dhrupad
Dhrupad is a vocal genre in Indian classical music, said to be the oldest still in use in that musical tradition. Its name is derived from the words "dhruva" (fixed) and "pada" (words). The term may denote both the verse form of the poetry and the style in which it is sung.
History There is no reference to Dhrupad in Bharat's Natya Shastra, commonly dated to the 1st Century AD, nor even in Sangit Ratnakar, a 13th Century text, taken as authoritative. Ravi Shankar states that the form appeared in the fifteenth century as a development from the prabandha, which it replaced. Under Mughal ("Mogul") rule it was appropriated as court music. However the musical background of dhrupad is commonly thought to have a long history, traceable back to the Vedas themselves.
Dumraon Gharana - Dhrupad traditions of Bihar Dumraon gharana is an ancient tradition of dhrupad music nearly 500 years old. This gharana flourished under the patronage of the kings of Dumraon Raj when it was founded. T'he Drupad style (vanis) of this gharana is Gauhar, Khandar, and Nauharvani. The founder of this gharana was Pt. Manikchand Dubey and Pt. Anup chand Dubey. Both artists were awarded by Mugal Emperor Shahjahan. The father of Bharat Ratna Ustad Bismillah Khan who also belonged to the Dumraon Gharana tradition. He usually played Shahnai in Dhrupad style. Famous living singers of Dumraon Gharana (Buxar) include Pt. Ramjee Mishra, a representative of Dumraon Gharana.Pt. Kamod Mishra- Vrindavan also a representative of Dumraon Gharana.
Many books have been written by this gharana, like Shree Krishn Ramayan, by Pt. Ghana rang Dubey, Surprakash, Bhairav, Prakash, Rashprakash, written by Jay Prakash Dubey and Prakash Kavi. Abishek Sangit Pallav by Dr. Arvind Kumar.
Much work has been done on this gharana and many items of this Dumraon Gharana are subjects of research.
Practice
Dhrupad as we know it today is performed by a solo singer or a small number of singers in unison to the beat of the pakhavaj or mridang rather than the tabla. The vocalist is usually accompanied by two tanpuras, the players sitting close behind, with the percussionist at the right of the vocalist. Traditionally the only other instrument used was the Rudra Veena. Some artists have used other instruments. Preferably, such instruments should have a deep bass register and long sustain.
Style
There are said to be four broad stylistic variants (vanis or banis) of classical dhrupad – the Gauri (Gohar), Khandar, Nauhar, and Dagar, tentatively linked to five singing styles (geetis) known from the 7th Century: Shuddha, Bhinna, Gauri, Vegswara, and Sadharani. But more importantly, there are a number of dhrupad gharanas: "houses", or family styles.
- See Wikipedia article on Dhrupad for more information
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