Darbar: Dhrupad by Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar

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.








Stage times

12pm – 2pm (no interval)

Age guidance: 5+. Under 14s must be accompanied by someone aged 16 or over.





Performers