Night Prayer/ Gundecha Brothers - dhrupad



By Narendra Kusnur

 Album: Night Prayer
Artiste: Gundecha Brothers
Genre: Hindustani classical dhrupad
Label: Felmay
Rating: ****

The death of vocalist Ramakant Gundecha on the evening of Friday, November 8, has come as a huge shock to Hindustani classical followers. The tragedy happened too suddenly at the Habibganj railway station, Bhopal, as the maestro had a heart attack while travelling with his brother Umakant to Pune for a concert, before heading to Mumbai for the day-long 8 Prahar festival.

The Gundecha Brothers have been at the forefront of the dhrupad vocal style since the late 1980s, following the Dagar Vani tradition created by the renowned Dagar Brothers. The oldest form of Hindustani vocal music, this gayaki preceded the popular khayal format, and has also influenced certain styles of instrumental music. Besides the Gundecha Brothers, Uday Bahawalkar of Pune has earned recognition for carrying the Dagar Vani vocal style forward.

Apart from being prolific and brilliant performers, the Gundecha Brothers are known for their role in spreading education about the art form at the Dhrupad Sansthan gurukul in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. In Mumbai, they or their students have regularly conducted masterclasses at the National Centre for the Performing Arts complex.

As a tribute to Ramakant Gundecha, it would be appropriate to listen to some of their recordings. Here, we chose the 2012 album Night Prayer, which is a quintessential example of their style.

The Gundecha Brothers render the pentatonic night raag Malkauns, which uses Sa, komal Ga, shuddha Ma, komal Dha and komal Ni in its ascent. The opening part is the alaap, which has no rhythm accompaniment but is backed by the drone of two tanpuras. Both brothers show exquisite vocal coordination as they gradually increase the tempo using syllables and not words. The piece requires total concentration from the listener to absorb the mood completely.

Two pieces of a devotional nature follow with accompaniment from the rhythm instrument pakhawaj in the 12-beat chautaal. The basic melody is reminiscent of Naushad’s famous raag Malkauns song ‘Man Tadapat’, sung by Mohammed Rafi and written by Shakeel Badayuni in the 1952 film Baiju Baiju Bawra.

The concluding composition ‘Shankara Girijapati’ is set to the 10-beat sooltaal, and the pakhawaj adds vibrancy. Though the percussionist’s name isn't mentioned, the brothers are often accompanied by Akhilesh Gundecha in their concerts and recordings. Once again, the brothers take turns singing the main melody, and their interaction is marvellous.

This album by Felmay provides a wonderful example of the art of dhrupad singing, and is specially recommended for those new to this style. One can also try out Ancestral Voices by Navras Records, featuring raags Yaman and Charukeshi, Bhaktamar Strotra by Sense World Music, or check out YouTube clips of live renditions of short devotional pieces in raags Adana, Charukeshi and Jaijaiwanti, released by Art And Artistes.

The Gundecha Brothers have played a special role in the propagation of dhrupad. Ramakant Ji’s demise comes as a huge loss and he will be sorely missed.


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