RISHABH DHAR

About Padmabhusan Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar

Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar (Indore, 1923 - Kolkata, 2000) was an Indian dhrupad singer in the dagar-vani style.He is also remembered as the younger brother in the legendary jugalbandi or duo of Senior Dagar Brothers.He along with his elder brother Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar was responsible in reviving the dhrupad tradition that had fallen to a nadir after the death of their father Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar. Ustad Nasiruddin Khan had an early premonition of his own death and spend ten years training his two elder sons Moinuddin and Aminuddin so as to impart all his musical knowledge to them. Subsequently after Ustad Nasiruddin Khan's demise the two brothers trained under Ustad Riyazuddin Khan and Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar. SENIOR DAGAR BROTHERS Young Aminuddin gave his first performance at the age of eleven. It was however the 1940s that saw the meteoric rise of Moinuddin and Aminuddin as the Senior Dagar Brothers—two of the brightest stars in the Dhrupad firmament. Within themselves they not only transformed the art of Dhrupad singing but also breathed new life to the form of duet or jugalbandi singing.Their music proved to be so charming that Alain Danielou the renowned musicologist and the then director of UNESCO invited them to tour Europe and perform under the UNESCO banner in Berlin Venice and Paris.In 1964 the European audience listened enthralled to their singing and newspaper after news paper declared the glory of Dhrupad and of the Senior Dagar Brothers.DHRUPAD SANGEET ASHRAM The next phase of Aminuddin's life unfolded in Kolkata where he came in January 1966 as the founder principal of Birla Academy Swar Sangam. In 1975 he founded his own Dhrupad institute and named after his elder brother Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram. He planned it as an Ashram where disciples will stay close to their guru and learn the subtle nuances of Dhrupad through the age old guru sishya parampara.It is now the oldest surviving institute solely dedicated to the preservation and propagation of dagar-vani Dhrupad. It is here that Guruji trained some of the best dhrupad singers of the next generation including Alaka Nandy, Ashoka Dhar Nandy (famous as the Nandy Sisters),Sujata Moitra and Anu Burman. Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangeet Ashram, established in 1975 by the legendary musician Ustad Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, is one of the oldest and the most prestigious institutes for the cultivation of the ancient form of Indian Classical music known as Dhrupad. The institute is actively engaged in preserving and propagating the rich heritage of Dhrupad singing through its rigorous training programmes, its organizing regular Dhrupad events and its huge archivation project.