Dagar Brothers (Senior)
(1921-1966, 1923-2000)
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Profile
Discography
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Profile
Ustads Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, popularly known as the senior Dagar Brothers, were instrumental in dhrupad revival. In the sixties their dhrupad vocals jugalbandhi (duet) gained wide acclaim and following, particularly in Europe. They are said to be the 19th generation of the unbroken Dagar family Dhrupad tradition.
Nasir Moinuddin Dagar was born on May 12th 1921 in Alwar, Rajasthan. Nasir Aminuddin Dagar was born two years later in Indore on 20th October, 1923. They were the eldest sons of Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar. Ustad Nasiruddin Khan was an outstanding exponent of the dhrupad gayaki. A devout and God-fearing man, he was appointed a court singer by the Maharaja of Indore, Tukoji Rao Holkar. He had a vision that he was destined to die soon, thus devoted his remaining 10 years to imparting rigorous training to his two elder sons Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar. After his early demise, the young brothers were trained by their maternal uncle Ustad Riazuddin Khan Dagar of Jaipur and then Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar of Udaipur. Later, Aminuddin had his training from his elder brother for 19 years and claims that he owes more or less his entire “Gyan” to his elder brother.
The story of Dagar brothers was one of hardship and struggle. By then Dhrupad had lost patronage and was no longer popular. But brothers' perseverence paid off. They came to be accepted as great vocalists. Beginning in 1961, they toured various countries and were very well received in Europe. A lot of people got interested in the deeply meditative style of dagar bani. By the time of sudden demise of Nasir Moinuddin Dagar 24th May, 1966, Dhrupad was on its revival path. Apart from dhrupad, the brothers worked in Sriram Bharatia Kala Kendra between 1956 and 1961, composing music for acclaimed ballets like Malati Madhav, Kumar Sambhav and Shan-E-Oudh.
After 1966, Ustad Nasir Aminuddin continued the work single handedly. He established the Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar Dhrupad Sangit Ashram in 1975 and gave free training to deserving disciples. Ustad Nasir Aminuddin passed away on 28th, December 2000. Among the several awards that he rceived were the Sangeeth Natak Academy award in 1985, Padma hushan in 1986 and Tansen award in 1990. Ustads Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, the younger brothers and thier disciples became a famous vocal duo and inherited the name of Dagar Brothers. Thus, Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar are now known as the senior Dagar Brothers or the Elder Dagar Brothers. Raga Records has brought out two excellent CDs of the senior Dagar Brothers in concert (live recordings 1955 and 1957).
Related Artists
| Teachers & Influences | Ustad Nasiruddin Khan(father), Ustad Riazuddin Khan Dagar, Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar |
| Disciples & Followers | Ustads Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar (Younger Dagar Brothers), Alaka Nandi and Ashoka Dhar (Nandi Sisters), Anu Burman |
| Similar Artists | Ustads Nasir Zahiruddin Dagar and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, Zia Fariduddin Dagar |
| Worked With | Sri Purushottam Das (pakhavaj), Mahesh Mishra (sarangi), Pandit Shrikant Mishra (pakhavaj), Raja Chhatrapati Singh Ju Deo (pakhavaj) |
Links
The web page will open in a new window- North American Dhrupad Association
- Dagars at drupad.de
- Ustad Nasir Aminuddin at AshokaDhar.com
- Jugalbandhi Tradition at Dhrupad.org
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