Gundecha Brothers

They moved to Bhopal in 1981, for training under Zia Fariddudin Dagar and his brother Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. These gurus were second cousins of the two major 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).

Ramakant Gundecha died in Bhopal on 8 November 2019 from a heart attack.

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 poets such as Tulsidas, Padmakar and Nirala.

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

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