The Dhrupad Sisters Trio, comprising of Amita Sinha Mahapatra, Janhavi Phansalkar and Anuja Borude represents a very dramatic change in the journey of Dhrupad, the oldest genre of Indian Classical Music, as well as the Pakhawaj. While there has been a significant revival of both the arts, as a result of the consistent, dedicated efforts of many generations of musicians, both Dhrupad singing and the Pakhawaj were, nevertheless, dominated by male artists for a very long time.
In the recent years, ... view more »
The Dhrupad Sisters Trio, comprising of Amita Sinha Mahapatra, Janhavi Phansalkar and Anuja Borude represents a very dramatic change in the journey of Dhrupad, the oldest genre of Indian Classical Music, as well as the Pakhawaj. While there has been a significant revival of both the arts, as a result of the consistent, dedicated efforts of many generations of musicians, both Dhrupad singing and the Pakhawaj were, nevertheless, dominated by male artists for a very long time.
In the recent years, we see a rising number of women performing Dhrupad in India and in the USA. Amelia Cuni of Italy (a disciple of the Late Pt. Bidur Mallik), Shanta Benegal and Annie Penta (both disciples of the Late Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar) are a few names of women Dhrupad performers.
The Dhrupad Sansthan, Bhopal established by the Gundecha Brothers has contributed greatly towards breaking the long-established image of Dhrupad as being a male-dominated art. The Dhrupad Sisters are an excellent example of the same. Amita and Janhavi have both been trained in Dhrupad singing under the tutelage of Pt. Umakant Gundecha and Pt. Ramakant Gundecha, while Anuja has been trained in Pakhawaj by Pt. Akhilesh Gundecha at the Dhrupad Sansthan. They have, as students and as individual performers, proven that women are equally skilled at mastering the specific techniques of Dhrupad and Pakhawaj.
View less
English
Spanish
