| Zia Fariduddin Dagar | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 15, 1935 |
| Origin | Udaipur, Rajasthan |
| Genres | Dhrupad, Hindustani classical music |
| Occupations | vocalist |
Zia Fariduddin Dagar (born 1932) is an Indian classical vocalist in the Dhrupad, the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music (Hindustani classical music) [1][2] and part of the Dagar family of musicians.[3] He taught at the Dhrupad Kendra, Bhopal, along with his elder brother, Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar for 25 years.[4]
He was awarded the 1994 Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Hindustani music-Vocal by Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama [5]
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He was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan in India on 15 June 1932, where his father, the great Ustad Ziauddin Khansahib was the court musician of Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur. He was taught dhrupad vocal & veena by his father. After his father’s demise, he continued learning under his elder brother, Late Ustad Z M Dagar, the foremost Rudra veena player of 20th century.[4]
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar represents the 19th generation of the musical tradition of the Dagar family that is believed to have preserved and nurtured Dhrupad for 20 generations.
Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar has done a lot for popularizing dhrupad music by his numerous concerts and workshops. He has performed widely in India and abroad, and received the Tansen Samman from the Madhya Pradesh government and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. In 2005, he was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the North American Dhrupad Association.
He has a remarkable command over microtones (swara-bheda) and various gamakas, and is noted for his gradual development of alap through vilambit, madhya and drut laya (slow, medium and fast tempo). He is probably the only person alive to be able to demonstrate all the five geetis mentioned in the Sangita Ratnakara namely, Shuddha, Bhinna, Gaudi, Sadharani(which is dagarwani of today) & Vegasura(which is popular in south India).
He is the most influential dhrupad vocalist in India after the senior Dagar Brothers (Ustads N. Moinuddin & N. Aminuddin Dagar).
By 1980, he had virtually settled down in Austria teaching Dhrupad in Austria and France. Once, during a visit to India, one of his disciples, the filmmaker, Mani Kaul came to him and pleaded with him to provide the background score for a film, The Cloud Door (1994) [6][7] he was making on Madhya Pradesh. During the making of the film, they spent over two months in Madhya Pradesh, a lot of time in Bhopal. In those days, Shri Arjun Singh was the Chief Minister of M.P. Cultural development was one of his passions. It is because of him that the magnificent Bharat Bhavan cultural center developed in Bhopal. At that time, the Secretary to the Department of Culture in MP was Shri Ashok Vajpayee. Shri Vajpayee offered to start a government- supported Dhrupad Gurukul in Bhopal. Ustadsahib agreed to move back to India & to take charge as the Guru at this Gurukul. He taught dhrupad for 25 years at this Dhrupad Kendra, under the Ustad Allauddin Khan Music Academy, Bhopal, to students like the Gundecha Brothers.[4]
He was a distinguished guest faculty at Dhrupad Sansar, IIT Bombay for a span of 5 years. Dhrupad Sansar was started under the Cell for Human Values to create an appreciation about Indian Classical Arts & Culture among staff & students of the institution.
Nowadays, he stays & teaches at the Dhrupad Gurukul near Panvel, which was built by his elder brother Ustad Z. M. Dagar. He continues to perform widely in India and abroad.
His students include the Ritwik Sanyal, Pt.Pushparaj Koshti, Pt.Nirmalya Dey, Gundecha Brothers, Pt.Uday Bhawalkar & his nephew Baha'ud'din Mohiuddin Dagar.
Zia Mohiuddin Dagar / Zia Fariduddin Dagar [8]