Aminuddin Dagar - Senior Dagar Brothers

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. Previously jugalbandi in the field of classical music had degenerated into a competition between the two singers where each tried to outdo the other in exhibitionism. Moinuddin and Aminuddin on the other hand brought back the concept of a harmonious synchronization between the two singers. In a typical performance by the Senior Dagar Brothers, the honey rich voice of Aminuddin will draw the audience into a deep meditative mood by gradually descending the notes of the lower octaves and Moinuddin would dazzle the listeners with his alankars or ornamentations in the upper octave. After having established Dhrupad in a pedestal of glory in India, they were invited to perform abroad. The two brothers visited Russia and Japan mezmerising the audience of both East and West with their divine music. 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. A review of their performance published in Le Monde of Paris dated 17 November 1964 perhaps best expresses the mood of the western audience: “...we will remain under the deep impression of an art of such greatness and intensity that... we feel touched and moved to the deepest of our being.” Ustad Nasir Moinuddin Dagar died soon after this concert in 1966. Aminuddin who had regarded his brother as his greatest guru and his father substitute was left completely devastated but he continued his journey as a solo performer.