Preamble
As a part of an educational activity and to upkeep the art of Dhrupad singing, ‘Nadachakra’ has been organising Dhrupad workshops since 2016 in collaboration with Art Beyond Hype. The workshops have been remarkably efficient in terms of imparting knowledge and inspiring the promising participants from the country and abroad. Especially, we have observed a sincere interest from the young participants and their repeated participation in the series of workshops organised by us.
Our mission is to preserve the tradition of Dhrupad by spreading the knowledge of this ancient musical art among the youth. Sharing the invaluable aesthetic values, theoretical and practical knowledge and consistent follow-up sessions with the participants are the modules of our workshops.
We have been consistently organising Dhrupad workshops in Varanasi, Dharamkot, Rishikesh and Gular (Uttarakhand) since 2016. Overwhelming responses were observed during the workshops arranged in different places, and some of the followers have been participating regularly in different chapters of the workshops
Dhrupad Tradition in Bengal
The art of Dhrupad is at the core of the classical music tradition of Bengal. Dhrupad of the Vishnupur school is one of the foremost and distinctive traditions of Indian classical music, which flourished under the patronage of the Vishnupur rulers. Eminent masters, such as Bahdur Khan, Ramsharan Bhattacharya, Jadunath Bhattacharya, Satyakinkar Banerjee, Radhikaprasad Goswami and Gopeswar Bandopadhyay, were a few among the celebrated masters of this school, who maintained and propagated the style of Dhrupad singing in the arena of Indian classical music.
Dhrupad retreat Santiniketan, West Bengal
In continuation to the series of Dhrupad workshops organised under the auspices of ‘Nadachakra’, we are pleased to announce a week-long Dhrupad workshop in Santiniketan between 1st and 7th January 2025. The workshop will be conducted by Pandit Nirmalya Dey (www.nirmalyadhrupad.org). In order to revive the tradition of Dhrupad in West Bengal, we plan to expand the opportunities for learning the art of this golden heritage.
Our efforts for rranging intensive Dhrupad workshops will continue. The interested students will be given consistent training support to reach the professional level of knowledge and aptitude.
We have chosen Santiniketan as the location for the workshop, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city. The place, which has an outstanding cultural value and is a distinguished UNESCO world heritage site, is a peaceful abode surrounded by greenery. The workshop venue will be serene and truly appropriate for learning and practising meditative music such as Dhrupad.