The frenzy sweeping over contemporary India hasn’t spared the inner circle of classical music. Displays of virtuosity have become the norm, thwarting the search for the right atmosphere, a necessary condition to experience the sacred. Yet this was the Hindustani tradition’s primary vocation. Among the artists of his time, Ustad Mohi Baha’ud-din Dagar is an exception. His slender figure, nearly suspended movements, and distant gaze are marvelously appropriate to this scholarly mind and passionate but wise soul. He is the son of Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (1929-1990), master of the rudraveena, and the nephew of no less legendary musicians including the singer Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (1932-2013). Representing the twentieth generation of the Dagarvani, this unique line of the dhrupad style, Baha’ud-din Dagar is heir to an extremely demanding legacy. History tells us that the poet-musicians connected with the rāja Mān Singh Tomar of Gwalior, including the famous Tansen, were the first architects of the form that has reached us. Each day, the musician gets down to the job of producing the harmonious, profound, and subtle resonance able to reveal the real beyond the real.

Edith Nicol