Darbar Festival / Dhrupad by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar
Barbican CentreSilk Street, London
Fri 30 Oct · 12:00
About this event
Twenty generations of one family. One voice. The oldest surviving form of Hindustani classical music. Dhrupad predates khayal, thumri, and every other Hindustani vocal form still performed today. It moves slowly and deliberately, each note given space to resonate before the next arrives. There are no quick flourishes here, no ornamental shortcuts. What you hear instead is pure melodic architecture: raga in its most exposed, structural form. Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar carries a 500-year family lineage — the Dagar dynasty has transmitted this music from teacher to student across twenty unbroken generations. Between the ragas, Dagar shares the stories and philosophy embedded in each composition. Mohan Shyam Sharma’s pakhawaj (the barrel-shaped drum that preceded the tabla) provides the rhythmic foundation. This is a midday concert with room to breathe, think, and hear where Indian classical music began. Produced by Darbar Arts Culture Heritage Trust. Stage times 12pm – 2pm (no interval) Age guidance: 5+. Under 14s must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over. Performers Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar dhrupad Mohan Shyam Sharma pakhwaj
