Dhrupad

It was a magical four days. The Auroville Film Institute has a residency with Ustad Bahauddin Dagar was organized from 7 to 10 November 2022. It took place in the Bhumika Hall, Bharat Nivas Auroville.

Dhrupad - the movie (1983)

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar is a rudraveena player. His family has been playing the instrument for 20 generations! His father and uncle (Zia Mohiyuddin Dagar and Fariduddin Dagar) were true masters. There is a wonderful movie about it Dhrupad by the Indian director Mani Kaul. Mani Kaul is strongly influenced by the forerunner of the Nouvelle Vague Robert Bresson, among others. Mani Kaul's film is a milestone in Indian film history. His film opens with a shot of Ustad Bahauddin Dagar as a young boy. It was a charming idea of the Auroville Film Institute to invite Ustad Bahauddin Dagar to Auroville to learn more about Dhrupad Gayaki and the Rudraveena.

Ustad Bahauddin Dagar radiates incredible modesty. He stands on big shoulders and only started learning the rudraveena late in life. He gives international concerts himself and is a true guru. He brought two of his students with him. Among the participants were many music students who had been waiting for this workshop for two years, as it had been postponed several times due to the coronavirus.

Master class

Am Anfang und Ende des Workshops spielte Ustad Bahauddin Dagar die Rudraveena. Die Mitschnitte sind hier verlinkt. Ich höre seit sehr langer Zeit Ragas, ohne viel darüber zu wissen. Ich habe viel über die Ursprünge gelernt, die Verbindung bis zurück zu der Zeit der vedischen Schriften. Wir lernten über die Komplexität des Instruments, das über Jahrtausende perfektioniert wurde. Die Musiktheorie und Spielpraxis illustrierte Ustad Bahauddin Dagar auf der Rudraveena selbst.

On two days we learned about riyaz (practicing): Early in the morning before sunrise (on Wednesday at 4:30am and on Thursday at 6:30am) the voice was 'warmed up'. This started with Kharaj, practicing the lower register of the voice. Singing OM together has a very meditative component through the voice formation effect and lung capacity training. This was followed by complex rhythm and melody exercises.

I suddenly realized how rich this tradition is and that it is sad that this form of music is still seen as something exotic. For me, after this workshop, it is part of the world's cultural heritage. But it may take a while before it is recognized as such.

Film - Dhrupad - Spirituality

It was a revelation. Philosophically, I was interested in the fact that the rhythm in the ragas was described several times as flight - in the film and in the discussions. This reminds me of Deleuze, his idea that rhythm is an element that connects, things that vibrate in rhythm are connected. A rhythm that is perceived attracts, starting with mating behavior in the animal kingdom, if not geologically and cosmologically in the orbits of stars and pulsars.

Mani Kaul's film works with random elements, it is not narrative. The music and the images interact respectfully, the organization of the shots is complex, individual elements refer to each other within the film's timeline (line of flight). It is clearly musically conceived. It is a film that captures and preserves the philosophy of the ragas. It is itself music, thought, spirituality, concentration and insight. For Deleuze, the Filmstrip itself, i.e. the medium of the film, concrete material thinking. In Manu Kaul's film, it is pure spirituality... immanence.

Dhrupad

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