The Gundecha Brothers are Indian classical singers of the

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South I ...

genre of the Dagar vani. From 1985 to 2019 the duo consisted of brothers Umakant Gundecha and Ramakant Gundecha and were awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

for art for 2012. Following the death of Ramakant Gundecha in 2019, his son Anant began to perform with Umakant in the Gundecha bandhu.

Early life and background

They studied at the local Madhav Music College. Umakant has a post-graduate degree in music and economics and the younger Ramakant in music and commerce. They moved to

Bhopal Bhopal (; ) is the capital city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of both Bhopal district and Bhopal division. It is known as the ''City of Lakes'' due to its various natural and artificial lakes. It i ...

in 1981 for training in Dhrupad music under

Zia Fariduddin Dagar Zia Fariduddin Dagar (15 June 1932 – 8 May 2013) was an Indian classical vocalist belonging to the Dhrupad tradition, the oldest existing form of north Indian classical music ( Hindustani classical music). He was part of the Dagar family o ...

and his brother Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. Both gurus were second cousins of the two major Dhrupad forces in the second half of the 20th century; two duos known as the senior Dagar Brothers (Nasir Moinuddin & Nasir Aminuddin) and the junior Dagar Brothers (Nasir Zahiruddin & Nasir Faiyazuddin) respectively. Ramakant Gundecha died in Bhopal on 8 November 2019 from a heart attack at the age of 57. He was married and had a son. He was cremated on 9 November 2019 in Bhopal.

Career

After training for four years, they performed in public for the first time in May 1985, at the ''Uttaradhikar'' dance and music festival in Bhopal. They have worked to expand the dhrupad repertoire by incorporating texts by

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

poets such as

Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, b ...

, Padmakar and

Nirala Nirala, real name Syed Muzaffar Husain Zaidi ( ur, ) (8 August 1937 – 9 December 1990) was a Pakistani comedian and film actor. He only appeared in Urdu films made in Pakistan. His first film was ''Aur bhi gham hain'' (1960). His last ...

. The Gundecha Brothers also sing the Dhrupad compositions of India's senior Kathak exponent Mahamahopadhyay Dr. Pandit

Puru Dadheech Puru Dadheech (Purushottam Dadheech, 17 July 1939) is a Kathak dancer. He is a choreographer and educator of Indian classical dance, and is known for his pioneering work in the field of Kathak. At the oldest Kathak department which was formed ...

, in particular, his famous Shankar Pralayankar composition. They have set up a Dhrupad institute outside Bhopal where they teach students from all over the world. They run a music school in the Dhrupad tradition, according to the '' guru-shishya'' style of teaching that is prevalent in India for teaching of the arts.

Recordings and fellowships

They have recorded many cassettes and CDs by H.M.V., Music Today, Rhythm House,

IPPNW International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a non-partisan federation of national medical groups in 63 countries, representing doctors, medical students, other health workers, and concerned people who share the goal of ...

Concerts Berlin, Navras and Audio Rec London. They have also sung for many television channels in India and have been broadcast on British, U.S., German and French Radio as well. As well as being an integral part of all of India's prestigious music festivals, the brothers have also performed at many important international music festivals and institutions in Europe, U.S.A., Australia, Singapore, Bangladesh, U.A.E. and Hong Kong. They have received M.P. Govt. Scholarship from 1981 to 1985, National Fellowship from 1987 to '89, Ustad Allauddin Khan Fellowship in 1993, Sanskriti Award in 1994 and Kumar Gandharva Award in 1998 by Govt. of Madhaya Pradesh and Dagar Gharana Award by Mewar Foundation in 2001.

Awards

* National Fellowship 1987–89 * Ustad Allauddin Khan Fellowship 1993 * Sanskriti Award 1994 * Kumar Gandharva Award by Government of Madhya Pradesh 1998 * Dagar Gharana Award by Mewar Foundation 2001 * Rajat Kamal—National Film Award for Best Music Direction 2006 * Puttaraj Gawai Award from Puttaraj Gawai Pratishthan, Dharwad 2010 * Padma Shri by Government of India 2012 * Spandan Sammaan 2016 * Shrimati Vatsala Joshi Samman 2016 * Lifetime Achievement Award by Union Bank 2017 * Madhya Pradesh Gaurav Samman 2017 * Sangeet Natak Akademi Award 2017 * Swati Tirunal Samman 2018

Controversy

On 4 September 2020, a student of Dhrupad Sansthan (training school run by Gundecha brothers) accused the late Ramakant Gundecha and Akhilesh Gundecha of sexual abuse. Following this event, several more students came forward with their allegations of abuse in discussions with the media. The school announced Akhilesh Gundecha would be stepping down while the accusations were investigated by the internal committee. As part of an internal probe conducted by the institution, an ICC was constituted to investigate the allegations. The ICC passed adverse recommendations against Akhilesh Gundecha. Among many other recommendations, it advised reconstitution of the institute's board of trustees to include a majority of non-family members,as well as penalties on the institute, disciplinary action and measures for reparation. The Gundecha Brothers approached the Madhya Pradesh high court challenging the ICC report and recommendations. In response,12 women filed an intervening application in support of the ICC.

Discography

Rhythm House (MCs): * Vol. 1, Raag- Bhimpalasi, Gurjari Todi, Malkauns * Vol. 2, Raag- Bihag, Madhumad Sarang, Sohni Music Today (MCs and CDs) * Bhaktimala / Rama – Vol. 1 * Bhaktimala/ Shiva – Vol. 1 * Bhaktimala/ Hanumana – Vol. 2 * Bhaktimala/ Ganesh – Vol. 1 * Young Masters -Vol.1 * Raga – Shyam Kalyan and Jaijaiwanti HMV (MCs and CDs) Naad Sugandh * Vol. 1, Raga – Bhupali, Puriya Dhanashri, Shankara * Vol. 2, Raga- Jounpuri, Megh, Komal Rishabh Asawari Raga – Bihag, Night Melody- Raga IPPNW – CONCERTS, Germany −1995 *Raga- Darbari, Audio Rec – UK −1998 *Navras- UK (CD) – Raag- Yaman and Charukeshi *Isha Music – Durga Kavach *Raga- Komal Rishabh Asawari – Dhrupad Vocal, Sundaram Records- 2003 *DARSHAN Raga – Komal Rishabh Asawari Sense world Music, UK – 2003 *Raga- Bhairava – Dhrupad Vocal, Sundaram Records- 2003 *Dhrupad- Live of 19th Tokyo Summer Festival *Arion Edo Foundation and Intoxicate Records *DVD – Raga- Miyan Malhar, Megh, Shivaranjani, *Malkouns, Adana *Manthan- Lecture Demonstration on Dhrupad *SPIC MACAY COMMUNICATIONS-2005 *Raga- Miyan Malhar– Dhrupad Vocal *Raga Bageshri *Raga Bilaskhani Todi *Sundaram Records- 2004 *Sacred Chants of Jainism: Bhaktamar Stotra – 2006

References

External links

Official siteAn interview of the Gundecha Brothers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gundecha Brothers Living people Hindustani singers Dagarvani Musicians from Bhopal Sibling musical duos Indian musical duos Indian musical groups People from Ujjain Recipients of the Padma Shri in arts Musical groups established in 1985 Singers from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century Indian singers 21st-century Indian singers Year of birth missing (living people) 1985 establishments in India