Ustad Imamuddin Khan Dagar Indian Music Art and Culture Society was set up in 1978. Since then it has been working for enhancement of music, art and culture through organisations like Gunijan Sabha, Malhar Utsav, Dhrupad Utsav, Veena Utsav.
Gunijan Sabha, had an interactive dialogue between artists and audience. at India Habitat Centre.
Pandit Gokulotsav Maharaj, an Indore based singer, was featured recently; moderating the dialogue was Dr. Neeta Mathur, vocalist, scholar and incidentally Gokulotsavji’s disciple.
Demystifying Haveli sangeet
Gokulotsav Maharaj who has revived the ancient tradition of “haveli sangeet” practised in the Vaishnav temples especially in the Nath Dwara temples, mentioned that the term haveli sangeet is a recent one, coined by Thakur Jaideva Singh in the 1960s. But the tradition is an ancient one; just as music was preserved in, and indeed composed for the court of the ruler, so it was in the haveli of the Lord. These dhrupad style compositions were sung all through the day to coincide with each activity of the Lord- to wake him, entertain him while he ate, to lull him to sleep.
Music originated from the Sama Veda; as Shri Krishna has said in the Bhagvat Gita, “of Vedas, the Sama Veda am I’ (Bhagwat Gita, 10th Chapter, English translation Dr Annie Besant). His spirituality is as much a part of his music, as his training. This makes for an interesting unique combination. Our music predates Sharangdev’s treatise; he said, its forms which are not extant today, are written about in our texts. Before dhrupad, existed other musical forms, distinguished from each other by different terms – Brahm math, Shiv Math. Gharanas are a newer way of distinguishing music styles and are only 250-300 years old; by adhering to them rigidly we are in a way tacitly acknowledging that our musical traditions are only 300 or so years old, he opined. Also the way certain ragas are associated with certain gharanas, (raga Nat with Jaipur Attrauli) the use of certain notes in certain ragas are peculiar to certain gharanas, is in a way limiting the vastness of our tradition – raga music should not be confined to a gharana interpretation, he felt.
