Dhrupad: The Call of the Deep

(A Film by Ashish Sankrityayan)

( 73 mins with English subtitles)

is a documentary film on Dhrupad and the guru shishya system of learning in which knowledge is imparted not merely through formal lessons but through the sharing of a whole way of life. The protagonists are renowned Dhrupad maestro Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar and his disciple Ashish Sankrityayan.

(please click on an image to see an enlargement)

The film focuses on the complex grammar, aesthetics and spiritual foundations of Dhrupad, and the transmission of this knowledge from the Guru to his disciple, through a very close and personal relationship in which the teacher and the student spend almost the entire day together. The film also shows how Dhrupad is still related to life in India despite all the

 pressures that come from modernization. This film on Dhrupad was shot over a period of four years and has extensive footage of Ustad Fahimuddin Dagar's Dhrupad singing and teaching.

The film is dedicated to SPICMACAY( Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music Amongst Youth)