About the Session
Padmashri Umakant Gundecha, in conversation with Tara Kini will present his own experience of the practice of Dhrupad as a Yogic practice of Sound, Nada Yoga, in parallel with the Ashtanga Yoga of Patanjali.
About the Presenters
Umakant Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha are the leading exponents of the Dhrupad style of music. They are among the most active performers in Indian and international circuits.
For their contribution to the field of Dhrupad and Indian Classical Music, they were conferred the “Padmashri” in 2012 and the “Sangeet Natak Akademi Award, 2017” by the Govt. of India.
Born in Ujjain in Central India, the brothers were initiated into music by their parents. The Gundecha Brothers received conventional university education and learned the Dhrupad vocal art under the renowned Dhrupad vocalist Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and also with Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (the distinguished performer of Rudra Veena) under guru shishya paramapara in Dhrupad Kendra Bhopal.
Tara Kini is an independent consultant in Education and Music and works with several reputed institutions in Bangalore, Andhra Pradesh, Delhi and Ahmedabad, developing curriculum, and training teachers and trainers. Tara is an advisor to the Shankar Mahadevan Music Academy.
Tara has trained intensively in Hindustani classical music for over 5 decades. She is currently training in Khayal from Smt Lalith J Rao, and in Dhrupad from Padmashree Gundecha Brothers. She has helped to set up a school of Dhrupad in Bengaluru, called the Dhrupad Sankula, affiliated to the Dhrupad Sansthan, Bhopal.
Tara is the founder director of a music collective called Sunaad that has presented over eighty shows that demystify classical music. The last three projects in Sunaad that she has conceptualised and directed, Swar Katha Upanishad, Isha Rumi- Beyond Form, and Mandukya Sant Vani have Dhrupad music composed by the Gundecha Brothers and have been inspired and guided by Sri M.
