Zia Fariduddin Dagar Biography 
Zia Fariduddin Dagar was an Indian classical vocalist of Dhrupad sangeet, a form of Indian classical music. Inherited music from his family, Dagar is a descendant of the legendary Haridas Dagar, Tansen's teacher. Dagar’s family is associated with music for many generations. Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar is his elder brother. Other exponents of Dhrupad sangeet who belonged to his family include - ‘Dagar Brothers’ consisting of siblings - Ustad Nasir Faiyazuddin Dagar and Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar, Ustad A. Rahimuddin Dagar, Ustad Aminuddin Dagar, Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Dagar and Ustad H. Sayeeduddin Dagar.
He was born in Udaipur, Rajasthan in the year 1932. His family inherited music for 20 generations and preserved Dhrupad sangeet for future generations. His father Ustad Ziauddin Khansahib was the court musician of Maharana Bhupal Singh of Udaipur. He learnt dhrupad vocal & veena from his father. Following his father’s demise he continued his learning from elder brother, Ustad N. Zahiruddin Dagar, a doyen of rudra veena.
Known for his remarkable command over microtones and various gamakas, he demonstrated all the five geetis mentioned in the Sangita Ratnakara. After the senior Dagar Brothers, he remained one of the most influential figures of Dhrupad sangeet in the post-independent era. He was a recipient of numerous honours including Padma Shri, Sangeet Natak Akademi award and Madhya Pradesh government’s prestigious Tansen Samman.
He represented the 19th generation of the Dagarbani musical tradition and propagated it to the future generations. Though settled in Austria and France by 1980, he returned to India to score music for a film made by his disciple Mani Kaul. Ritwik Sanyal, Pandit Pushparaj Koshti, Pandit Uday Bhavalkar, Pandit Nirmalya Dey, Gundecha brothers and Marianne Svasek are other major disciples. He also taught his nephews Baha’uddin Mohiuddin Dagar and Wasifuddin Dagar.
Published: N/A
Updated: March 27, 2016
