A knowledgeable guru with an amicable temperament, Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar will be remembered for his devotion to Dhrupad

The Dagar family has been synonymous with the art of Dhrupad singing, the oldest existing form of Hindustani classical music. The Dagar Bani, one of the four styles of the Dhrupad-Dhamar gayaki, is claimed to have been handed down through nineteen unbroken generations, in the traditional Guru Shishya Parampara; running into the current twentieth generation of practitioners. Ustad Hussain Sayeeduddin Dagar, the last representative of the 19th generation of the illustrious lineage, left for his heavenly abode last Sunday.

He was the youngest among this generation of Dagars, that comprised the ‘Dagar -Saptak’. With the passing away of Ustad Sayeeduddin Dagar, the Dagar Saptak has lost it’s last note. Dagar brothers were credited to have sustained the glory of this ancient art form by protecting the rich heritage after independence, in the absence of royal patronage. They created history in 1964, as the first ever Indian musicians to perform at the International festival at Venice, Berlin and Paris. A long playing record of their music was also brought out by UNESCO.

The eight Dagars of the 19th generation comprised the senior Dagar Brothers, Ud. Nasir Moinuddin Dagar and Ud. Nasir Aminuddin Dagar, the junior Dagar Brothers Ud. Nasir Zahiruddin and Ud. Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar, their cousins Ziya Mohiuddin Dagar, who played Rudra-Veena and Zia Fariduddin Dagar and the other cousin Ud. Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar. Sayeed Bhai was the youngest of them all.

Born in Alwar, Rajasthan in 1939, he was initiated into the family tradition of music at a tender age of six, under the tutelage of his father Ustad Hussainuddin Khan Dagar, popularly known as Tansen Pande. After his father’s demise he trained under his uncle Ustad Rahimuddin Khan Dagar. Later he continued under his cousins Ustad N. Aminuddin Khan Dagar, Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar, Ustad N Zahiruddin Khan Dagar and Ustad N Faiyazuddin Khan Dagar.

He had been the President of Dhrupad Society Jaipur and Pune. He had performed at some of the most prestigious festivals in India and abroad.

Voice culture

He was acknowledged to be a knowledgeable guru as well, especially known for voice culture. This is a remarkable feature of this tradition, the Dagars have inherited from their ancestors. Their unique voice is groomed with meticulous practice for at least twelve to fifteen long years of training.

Sayeed Bhai conducted workshops and interactive lecture demonstrations on Dhrupad in India and overseas including the Netherlands, Germany, France and Belgium. To keep up the ‘Dagar-Bandhu’ performing tradition of the Dagar family, he trained his two sons Nafeesuddin and Aneesudding Dagar to perform as the youngest Dagar Brothers, though the youngsters have to go a long way to reach the standard and repute of the earlier Dagar Brothers.

An extremely talented artiste with a sonorous voice and a devoted Guru, Sayeed Bhai will also be remembered for his amicable temperament and sense of humour. His sad demise is a great loss to the world of Dhrupad.

‘Emotionally rich’

Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, who had just returned from Jaipur after putting his youngest uncle Ud. Sayeeduddin Dagar to rest next to other departed ‘buzurg’ (veterans) of the family at the Eidgah; remembers him with a heavy heart.

“He was the youngest and the most jovial uncle of mine. He was endowed with a joyous temperament, friendly to youngsters and respectful to elders. His momentary anger would be like ‘jwalamukhi’ (fearsome) but the very next moment there would be a cool shower of affectionate laughter.

The sensitivity of his temperament was evident in his music too. He would prefer to preface the Dhrupad with the alapchari in mandra saptak (lower octave) leisurely with great ‘chain’ and ‘suqoon’. People used to say that he did not even want to touch the madhya and taar saptak, the higher notes.

His music was ‘bhava-pradhan’, emotionally rich. He would always discourage aggressive ‘gamaka’s that interfere with the softness of elaboration.

He had shifted to Pune but Maharashtra was not very kind to him, and always treated him like an outsider. He was a very respected guru and many of his disciples are foreigners performing in France and Belgium.”

Great admirer

Ud Amjad Ali Khan remembers Ud Sayeeduddin Dagar from the times he used to live in Delhi. He remembers him as a friend with a great sense of humour. “The Dagar family was close to our family from the times of my father, who was a dear friend of Ustad Nasiruddin Khan Dagar, the father of Ud. Moinuddin, Aminuddin, Zahiruddin and Faiyazuddin Dagar, who performed ‘jugalbandi’ duets as senior and junior Dagar Brothers. My father was a great admirer of the music of Ud. Nasiruddin Khan Dagar and used to say that his ‘gamak’ was justified, appropriate and appealing. This remark of my father comes to mind when we suffer the fearsomely aggressive ‘gamak’ quite often in present day Dhrupad.”

“Ud. Sayeeduddin Dagar’s father Tansen Pande was also groomed in the same Dagar-Bani tradition. The contribution of Dagar-Bani and the Dagar family has been remarkable in the field of Dhrupad. Farid Sahib has groomed a number of artists performing today. Sayeed Bhai has also trained many. Wasifuddin seems to be the last flame as the vocalists from this family, who have made their mark.”