Dr. Ritwik Shanyal

My teacher and guru Dr. Ritwik Sanyal (Dhrupad)

Born on 12 April 1953 in Katihar, Bihar, Shri Ritwik Sanyal was initiated in music by his mother Ranu Sanyal, who taught him folk and popular melodies of Bengal. Shri Sanyal went on to train in Dhrupad music under Zia Mohiuddin Dagar and Zia Fariduddin Dagar (1975) in Mumbai, and took an M.A. in philosophy at Bombay University He then moved to Varanasi to continue studies in music, obtaining a Master’s in vocal music at Banaras Hindu University. This he followed with a PhD in musicology He has been teaching at BHU since 1981, where he is currently Professor of Vocal Music. Shri Ritwik Sanyal has won recognition as a performer of Dhrupad who has propagated the art through his music and scholarly work.

He has made numerous concert appearances at festivals such as the Harballabh Samaroh at Jalandhar, the Tansen Samaroh at Gwalior, the ITC Sangeet Sarnaroh, and various Dhrupad Melas. He has conducted seminars and workshops on Dhrupad at universities in India, Western Europe, t he Americas, Japan, and Australia. His students at Banaras Hindu University are from various parts of t he world. He has several recordings of his music on the market issued by houses in India and other countries, two major publications titled Philosophy of Music (1987) and Dhrupad: Tradition and Performance in Indian Music (2004), and a number of articles in periodicals. Shri Sanyal has been honoured for his work with the Uttar Pradesh Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (2002), and the Dhrupad Samman (2007). Shri Ritwik Sanyal receives the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for his contribution to Hindustani music.

Ustad Zia Mohinuddin Dagar

The teacher (Guru) of my teacher Dr. Ritwik Sanyal

A true legend: Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (14 March 1929 – 28 September 1990), popularly known as Z. M. Dagar, was a North Indian (Hindustani) classical musician, one of the 19th generation of Dagar family dhrupad musicians. He was largely responsible for the revival of the rudra vina as a solo concert instrument.