Dhrupad Gharanas

Organized Indian music owes its origin to Samagana – the chanting of the Samaveda scriptures set to musical patterns. The oldest form of Indian classical music that exists today is Dhrupad. It is said to have originated from an even more ancient religious music form, Prabandha (2nd to 7th AD). The language of Prabandha was preeminently Sanskrit, whereas Dhrupad used mainly medieval Hindi or Brijbhasha (known as Madhyadesiya between the 14th and 16th centuries). Today, modern Hindi is also used. The word Dhrupad is the Hindi form of the original Sanskrit, Dhruvapada, a combination of Dhruva = structured or rigid and Pada = word.
The birth of Dhrupad coincided with the Bhakti movement of Vallabh Sampradaya and resultantly was devotional in nature. Dhrupad was sung in temples, the singer facing the divinity or it was sung by Vaishnav mendicants in their wanderings. This was the genesis of the Haveli Dhrupad. From this early chanting, Dhrupad evolved into a sophisticated, classical form of music. About six centuries ago, Dhrupad came to be patronized by the royal courts. However, its complex rendering became too highly sophisticated for royal audiences and the nature of the compositions became more secular. Some were written eulogizing the emperors; others were elaborations on the music itself, while still others were about heroic deeds or even elegant poetry in admiration of female beauty, especially Radha. In particular Raja Man Singh, king of Gwalior and a musician and a great lover of music gave Dhrupad immense encouragement and introduced many refinements. This came to be known as the Darbari Dhrupad. On account of his contribution, he is known as the originator of the Dhrupad style that is followed even today. However, the pristine nature of Dhrupad survived and even today we hear this majestic form of music performed like it was more than 500 years ago in the royal courts of the emperors and kings of India.


Today there are only three major schools of Dhrupad: Betia, Darbhanga and Dagar. The Dagar family is the oldest, having kept this tradition alive for generations.
Dagar Gharana
Darbhanga Gharana
Radhakrishna and Kartaram, the court musicians for the Nawab of Darbhanga in the mid eighteenth century, are considered to be the founders of the Darbhanga tradition of dhrupad. The gharana is continued in the two lineages formed by their descendants.
Originally, this gharana maintained branches of veena and pakhawaj playing too. The performance of the Darbhanga Gharana of dhrupad singers can be distinguished mainly by the way compositions are sung after the alap. A major emphasis is placed on the rhythmic aspect of the singing. The distinctive feature of the gharana is powerful and expressive vocal delivery, combined with a lively style of performance. Prominent singers include the late Ram Chatur Mallik (1906-1990), who was court musician at Darbhanga, Vidur Mallik, Abhay Narayan Mallik, and Prem Kumar Mallik.
Betia Gharana
Dhrupad in Betia style is signified by the apparent simplicity of vocal delivery coupled with emphasis on the composition. Betia Gharana has compositions available from all the Banis, though more emphasis is placed on Gaurhar and Khandar Banis. As a
Talwandi Gharana