This site describes instruments that are mainly used in the Dhrupad genre of Indian Classical Music. Dhrupad enjoyed wide popularity in India till about the 18th century. At present Dhrupad has very few practitioners in India and is rarely heard in concerts there. Not surprisingly many of the instruments of Dhrupad are nearly extinct now in the sense of having few or no performers left such as the Sursringar. The most important instrument of solo dhrupad performance is the Rudra Veena. The bass sitar called Surbahar is also used to play Dhrupad style alap mostly by sitar players who claim to belong to Dhrupad lineages. In the picture is shown a sculpture of Goddess Sarasvati playing the Ekatantri veena, a fretless precursor of the Rudra Veena with a single string and single resonator that was played with a slide.

The Tanpura is a drone instrument that accompanies Dhrupad singing and is the most fundamental of all instruments of Indian Classical Music.. The most fundamental principles on which Indian classical music is based are embodied in the Tanpura. The curved bridge of the Tanpura and its unusual shape produce a sound that is very rich in overtones. When a string of the Tanpura is plucked what is produced is not a pure note fixed in pitch, but a note that oscillates by a miniscule amount owing to the curved bridge. In this way the Tanpura embodies the concept of a note that is not fixed but is fluid with infinite microtonal shades. The tuning of the Tanpura is a complex task and advanced practitioners of Dhrupad especially in the Dagar Tradition -can tune a Tanpura to reflect the flavour of the raga to be performed. Here a few tanpuras made by a famous maker from miraj in India are on offer for private sale. The Tanpuras on offer are of a high quality and many famous Indian musicians get their Tanpuras made by this craftsman from Miraj. please click on the link below for details. Also on offer are a few Surbahars and Rudra Veenas including veenas made by the famous Calcutta veena maker late Murarimohan Adhikari the last master craftsman of the house of Kanailal and brother.

contact gsnellgrove(at)gmail.com

( a few instruments are on offer for private sale)

Surbahar      
myspace profile
ASHISH SANKRITYAYAN: Dhrupad Ragas Yaman, Malkauns, Lalit - DVD
ASHISH SANKRITYAYAN: Dhrupad - Ragas Abhogi, Lalit

 

 

 

 

 

 

ASHISH SANKRITYAYAN: Dhrupad Raga Miya Ki Malhar

 

 

 

ASHISH SANKRITYAYAN, SKYE LOFVANDER: Subtle Voices : Subtle Summit

 

 

 

Saraswati Playing the Veena ( Parmar School Central India)

 

 

 

 

                                                                     

                                                            

Dagar Veena

 

 

Free Link Exchange - Directory - SQL 2005 Web Hosting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tanpura
traditional kanailal rudra veena

 

Kanailal Surbahar

 

Forthcoming Events by Ashish Sankrityayan

2011

19th March Lausanne (Switzerland)

2010

29th January New Delhi

4th March Helsingør

5th March Hillerød

5th March Copenhagen

6th March Lyngby

6th March Copenhagen

7th March Copenhagen

12th March Berlin

27th March Lyngby (Denmark)

28th March Paris

22nd April Copenhagen

24th April Århus (Denmark)

25th April Århus (Denmark)

26th April Virklund (Denmark)

27th April Copenhagen(Denmark)

13th May Wolfenbüttel (Germany)

15th-30th May Musica Sacra Festival (Germany, Belgium)

15th May Munich

20th May Marktoberdorf (Germany)

22nd May Isny (Germany)

23rd MayLechbruck (Germany)

24th May Ausgsburg (Germany)

25th May Kaufbeuren (Germany)

27th May Stadt Worms (Germany)

30th May Macon (Belgium)

30th May Chimay (Belgium)

1,4 June Vienna

5,6 June Palezieux (Switzerland)

7-13June Rasa (Switzerland)

25th June Mumbai (India)

24th/25th July Vlodrop (Holland)

27th/28/29th July Salzburg (Austria)

1st/2nd August Odden (Denmark)

8th August Palezieux (Switzerland)

12th August Flachau (Austria)

13th August Århus (Denmark)

14th August Silkeborg (Denmark)

16,17th August Salzburg (Austria)

27th-29th October Salzburg (Austria)

1-7 October Hannover (Germany)

8-11th October Nürnberg (Germany)

29th October Palezieux(Switzerland)

30th OctoberNeuchatel(Switzerland)

30,31st October Bern (Switzerland)

1-7 November Rasa (Switzerland)

2009

1st February Aurangabad (India)

22nd February New Delhi

26 th February Copenhagen

28th February, 1st March Lyngby (Denmark)

1st March Helsingborg (sweden)

7th March Lund (Sweden)

14th March Århus (Denmark)

15th March Silkeborg (Denmark)

21/22 March Palezieux (Switzerland)

27,28,29 March Rasa (Switzerland)

1st April Berlin (Germany)

2nd April Dresden (Germany)

4th April Hannover (Germany)

6th April Vlodrop (Netherlands)

9th April Emeryville (US)

10th April Los Angeles

11th April Emeryville (US)

11th April San Francisco (US)

22nd April Delhi

30th April Gurgaon (India)

29th July Vlodrop (Holland)

30th July Rørvig (Denmark)

31st July Virklund (Denmark)

1,2 August Silkeborg (Denmark)

3 to 7th August Hannover (Germany)

8th August Berlin

10th-17th August Rasa (Switzerland)

17th September Mumbai

4th October Waiblingen (Germany)

9th October Berlin

10-16 October Hannover

17th,18th October Salem (Germany)

22nd October Lyngby (Denmark)

23rd October Frederikssund (Denmark)

24 October Lyngby (Denmark)

24th October Århus (Denmark)

28th October Lund (Sweden)

30th October Copenhagen

31st October Copenhagen

7,8 Nov Palezieux ( Switzerland)

14th November San Francisco

15th November Los Angeles

18th December New Delhi

more details on www.dhrupad.info

 

 

Home   Concerts   Workshops      Film     Books    Links   Contact  Directory

Documentary Film on Dhrupad

The Instruments of Dhrupad

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

anjaliarts CDs of traditional and contemporary spiritual music

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dana Health

Dana Health Traditional Acupressure Massage Systems

Healing Systems

Massage Systems

Piano

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

tanpura