Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar (2 February 1927 – 27 July 2011) was an exponent of Dagar vani

Dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South Ind ...

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

. He represented the 19th generation of Dagar Tradition. His cousins Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Nasir Aminuddin Dagar were known as the Senior Dagar Brothers. Similarly, Nasir Zahiruddin and Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar were known as the Junior Dagar Brothers. His other cousins were

Zia Mohiuddin Dagar Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28 September 1990), popularly known as Z. M. Dagar, was a North Indian ( Hindustani) classical musician, one of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was largely responsible for the r ...

, Fariduddin Dagar, and H. Sayeeduddin Dagar. He was awarded the

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

in 2008, the third highest civilian honour given by

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

, followed by the 2010

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

, the highest honour in the performing arts conferred by the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and be ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Biography

Born in Alwar, Rajasthan in 1927 into the illustrious Dagar family, Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar is the son of Padma Bhushan Ustad Allabande Rahimuddin Khan Dagar who died in 1975. Initiated into the art of dhrupad at the age of five by his uncle Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar, he received musical education for a period of 35 years from his father and family elders. In his words, "this included full mastery over the 52 alankaars (fundamental principles),

Nāda yoga Nāda yoga (नादयोग) is an ancient Indian metaphysical system. It is equally a philosophical system, a medicine, and a form of yoga. The system's theoretical and practical aspects are based on the premise that the entire cosmos and all t ...

Rudra veena The ''Rudra veena'' ( sa, रुद्र वीणा) (also spelled ''Rudraveena'' or ''Rudra vina'')—also called ''Bīn'' in North India—is a large plucked string instrument used in Hindustani Music, especially dhrupad. It is one of the m ...

, Sanskrit education and of course Dhrupad-Dhamar." He studied Rudra Veena from his uncle Ustad Ziauddin Khan Dagar for twelve years. He also took occasional lessons from his other uncles Ustad Hussainuddin Khan Dagar( better known as Tansen Pandey) and Ustad Imamuddin Khan Dagar. He learnt Sanskrit from his father and Pt. Giridharilal Shastri. Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar is known not only for the power and spontaneity of his alaap, but also for his rich repertoire of compositions, some of which are believed to date back to the 12th and 13th centuries. As he likes to put it about Dhrupad, "In the words of my ancestor Shat Shastri Baba Behram Khan Dagar, Dhrupad, as presented within our Dagar bani, is ‘ragatmak-swaratmak, shabdatmak-varnatmak, talatmak-layatmak and rasatmak. The singer has to portray its kalatmak, vidyatmak and adhyatmak aspects to do proper justice to it." It is the quality of music which has taken him to many countries like the USA, France, Germany and Italy for performances before select audiences. His recordings have been released in Switzerland, Germany and Italy.

Awards

Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar has been honoured with various awards, including:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dagar, Rahim Fahimuddin 1927 births 2011 deaths Hindustani singers Singers from Rajasthan Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in arts Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship 20th-century Indian male classical singers