Dagar vani

The Dagar vani is a tradition of the classical dhrupad genre of Hindustani classical music spanning 20 generations, tracing back to Swami Haridas (15th century), and including Behram Khan of Jaipur (1753-1878). For some generations its members were associated with the courts of Jaipur, Udaipur, and Mewar.

The Dagar vani is characterized by an exposition of alap-jor-jhala that emphasizes microtonal inflections and the specific characteristics of the raga.

Until the 20th century, it was exclusively a vocal genre (at least in performance), but since the innovations of Zia Mohiuddin Dagar to the rudra vina, that instrument has found a place in performance, following closely the inflections and style of the vocal technique.

The genre was carried into the 20th century by seven Dagar brothers and cousins: Aminuddin Dagar and Nasir Moinuddin (Senior Dagar Brothers), Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar, Nasir Zaheeruddin and Nasir Fayyazuddin (Junior Dagar Brothers), H. Sayeeduddin Dagar, and the brothers Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Zia Fariduddin Dagar. Zia Mohiuddin (rudra vina) and Zia Fareeduddin (vocal) were largely responsible for training today's practitioners, the most prominent of whom include Ritwik Sanyal, Pushparaj Koshti, Wasifuddin Dagar, Bahauddin Dagar, Asit Kumar Banerjee, Uday Bhawalkar, and the Gundecha Brothers.

Claims of descent from Swami Haridas notwithstanding, the musical style and pedagogy of the Dagar vani in its current form is understood to have originated with Behram Khan, who learned music not from within a family tradition but from Kalidas Dagur in Banaras. Behram Khan then intensively trained Zakiruddin and Allabande Khan, the grandsons of his older brother. The internationally-renowned 20th- and 21st-century exponents of the style are the descendents of Zakiruddin and Allabande.

While the term Dagar vani today often signifies the members of this particular family and their students, historically in the context of dhrupad, "vani" or "bani" denotes one of the four overarching stylistic orientations rather than any specific lineage. For example, Alladiya Khan and his Jaipur-Atrauli gharana are also understood to be rooted in the Dagar vani, with some elements of Gauhar and Khandar vani, but his line of descent and discipleship does not overlap with that of Behram Khan.