The Gundecha Brothers

Dhrupad is believed to have originated from the Sama Vedic traditions, and engaging with this musical form is a deeply meditative, yet dynamic and awakening experience. The Gundecha Brothers are the foremost practitioners of Dhrupad today and have developed a highly sophisticated sound through decades of study of its subtle nuances, Ragas and the body's physiology. Through their Gurukul in Bhopal and its branches across the country, they have been very successful in training several talented young Dhrupad performers to take the tradition ahead. This concert will be an opportunity to dive into an exploration of the possibilities of sound as developed through a centuries-old tradition, accompanied by the dynamic sound and rhythm of the Pakhawaj"

Gundecha Brothers

The importance of the Gundecha Brothers to Dhrupad/Hindustani classical music is not only that they have made Dhrupad accessible and popular throughout the world but that they exhibit a certain state-of-the-art quality in the style of their performance.

This is firstly their vocalism which is strong, resonant and exquisitely shaped for time and tension, and their concert technique that brings their voices to merge with each other so perfectly that their combined presence on the stage is not of two singers but of one Ragaand one song. This is a subtle evolution of the art in the Jugalbandi format, which the brothers have developed.

THE GUNDECHA BROTHERS are the most active performers of the ancient Indian musical vocal genre known as Dhrupad on the world musical scene today. They have made numerous international tours visiting more than 25 countries around the globe and have

recorded more than three dozen CDs from various national and international music labels. In 2012, Umakant and Ramakant, both vocalists and the elder of the three brothers, received from the government of India the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honor of India, for their contribution to Indian classical music. Together with Akhilesh, the youngest brother and a

performer on the barrel drum known as pakhawaj, they operate the Dhrupad Sansthan in Bhopal, India,a unique musical academy patterned on the ancient guru-shishya (teacher-disciple) tradition of education, with students from more than 20 countries, as well asfrom various parts of India, participating. Born in Ujjain in central India, the brothers were initiated into music by their parents. All three received conventional university educations while also studying music. Umakant and Ramakant learned from the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar, and also with the late Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra veena) at the Dhrupad Kendra in Bhopal. Akhilesh, the youngest brother, studied the pakhawaj with the prominent percussionists Pandit Shrikant Mishra and Raja Chhatrapati Singh JuDeo, and in addition to his brothers, has accompanied almost all of the major Dhrupad vocalists and instrumentalists of India. All of the brothers appear regularly on local and national radio and television.