Dhamar
धमार
A Holi song of the dhrupad tradition, sung in a 14-beat cycle
Dhamar is a dhrupad-family song form of Hindustani classical music, sung in the 14-beat dhamar tala, with texts on Krishna playing Holi with Radha and the gopis.
History & Evolution
Dhamar belongs to the dhrupad tradition, and the earliest dated account ties it to the Gwalior court of Raja Man Singh Tomar, who ruled from 1486 to 1516. The scholar Hariharnivas Dwivedi works from Raga Darpana, a Persian rendering made in 1665 to 1666 of Man Singh's lost treatise on music, the Manakutuhala. On that basis he reports that Man Singh had three song collections compiled: Vishnu padas, dhrupads, and hori and dhamar songs. The account rests on one scholar's reading of translated texts.
Dwivedi treats dhamar as a branch of dhrupad, and in concert classical hori in dhamar is sung as the closing part of a dhrupad recital, in Priyaankaa Mathur's description. The dhrupad line also continues in temple music. Haveli Sangeet, the music of the Pushtimarg Vaishnavas, carries dhrupad on as devotional singing, with texts by the Ashtachhap poets such as Surdas.
- Before Man Singh's court
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Folk song beginnings
Hariharnivas Dwivedi, reading the Persian rendering of Man Singh's lost treatise, writes that dhamar and hori began as folk songs before the Gwalior court took them into dhrupad singing. - From c. 1500
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Court
At Raja Man Singh Tomar's Gwalior court hori and dhamar became branches of dhrupad singing. By 1566 Abdul Wahid Bilgrami's Haqayeke Hindi was glossing the horis of Man Singh sung at Sufi gatherings, Dwivedi writes. - 18th to 20th century
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Khayal's rise
Dhrupad, the home tradition of dhamar, probably peaked in the 16th century. Khayal rose through the 18th century at the court of Muhammad Shah and became the leading vocal genre of North India in the 19th and 20th centuries. - Late 20th century to present
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Contemporary Practice
Dagar family singers and Asad Ali Khan lead a 20th-century return of dhrupad to the concert stage. One account places hori in dhamar at the close of a dhrupad recital.
Technical Aspects
Dhamar tala: 14 beats
Dhamar tala has 14 matras (beats). Aneesh Pradhan groups them in four sections, or vibhags, of 5, 2, 3 and 4, and also gives a six-part grouping of 3, 2, 2, 3, 2 and 2. The tala is played mainly on the pakhawaj, both for solos and to accompany the dhamar song.
Dhamar and Dhrupad
A dhamar works its text against the cycle through layakari, restating the words at dugun, tigun and chaugun (double, triple and quadruple density) and at aar (one and a half). In bol-bant the singer divides the words into rhythmic patterns, and the pakhawaj answers with improvised strokes.
Holi, Krishna and Hori
Journey to Mastery
Follow this structured journey to master this discipline
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Dhrupad Foundation
Begin with the dhrupad way of singing, because a dhamar uses the same voice and the same performance pattern. Dhrupad training in the Dagar tradition stresses exact intonation, including microtones, and treats the voice as an instrument. Practise long, steady notes, and listen to dhrupad and dhamar recordings side by side to hear what the two share.
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Dhamar Tala
Learn to count dhamar tala: 14 matras (beats). Aneesh Pradhan groups them 5, 2, 3 and 4, and also gives 3, 2, 2, 3, 2 and 2, so ask your teacher which grouping and claps your school uses. Recite the theka, the drum syllable pattern, while keeping the claps, at the base tempo and then at double and quadruple density (dugun and chaugun).
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Alap Development
Develop an alap in the dhrupad manner: an unmeasured opening that unfolds the raga, followed by nom-tom, the pulsed stage. Prepare a full alap and a short one, and ask your teacher how long the alap before a dhamar should run and which raga to use.
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Dhamar Compositions
Learn dhamar compositions on Krishna playing Holi with Radha and the gopis. Read each text for its meaning, including shringara rasa, the sentiment of love, which runs through Holi songs with devotion beneath it. Learn the sections each composition has, from the sthayi and antara to the sanchari and abhog of the full dhrupad form, since some keep only the first two.
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Layakari and Performance
Put a full dhamar together, from alap to the composition with pakhawaj. Practise layakari at dugun, tigun and chaugun, and at aar, one and a half, while holding the 14-beat cycle. Divide the words into rhythmic patterns (bol-bant) and listen for the drummer's improvised replies. Ask your teacher where a dhamar sits in a dhrupad programme.