FullMoon Babylon is proud to present the first edition of ‘Indian Raga Seasons’, a concert series dedicated to promote Indian Classical Music in Rotterdam and The Netherlands.
For these series, we strive to invite in one same evening a renowned musician from India and local musicians specialised in Indian classical music, to open the stage and welcome the Indian masters.
In this first edition was quite symbolic to emphasize the importance of origins and therefore the decision to dedicate the full program entirely to ‘Dhrupad’, the original and most ancient form of Hindustani (North Indian) Classical Music.
It is with great pleasure to announce the main artist and our special guest for this occasion is renowned vocalist: Pt. Nirmalya Dey, an accomplished ‘Dhrupadiya’ (‘Dhrupad’ master).
Opening the stage before him will be his prominent disciple in The Netherlands Ilyas Nadjafi (vocal), Aura Rascón (bansuri) and Samim Daud (tabla)
ABOUT DHRUPAD
Dhrupad is a medieval musical art form regarded as one of the major traditions of Indian culture and the core of Indian classical music, mainly practiced in Northern India. The origin of dhrupad can be traced back to the tradition of prabandha, the chanting of Sanskrit verses. This tradition evolved into the writing and composing of texts and dhrupad music. The dhrupad genre took a definite shape around five hundred years ago under the guidance of Swami Haridas (c. 1512–1575), who was a highly regarded saint-musician, poet, composer and teacher. Tansen (c. 1500–1586) and Baiju (16th century) rank among the illustrious performers and composers who had the tutelage of Swami Haridas and contributed to establish the culture of dhrupad as the most sophisticated and subtle form of classical musical rendition. This musical genre developed under royal patronage in the courts of famous kings and emperors such as Man Singh Tomar of Gwalior, Jahangir and Akbar among others. Since its inception in the 16th century, dhrupad tradition maintained uninterrupted legacy, the knowledge of this music being passed over the centuries by the masters through oral transmission. Essentially guided by the principles and practices laid down in old musical treaties, this genre is the most pristine form of Northern Indian classical music that has maintained its indigenous tradition.
