[EFF18S6] Session 6: Dhrupad/Mani Kaul
Description
Film: Dhrupad, Mani Kaul, India, 1982, 35mm, 74 minutes, Hindi with English subtitles
One of the most beautiful documentary essays directed by Mani Kaul. The filmmaker, who was himself a performer of Dhrupad, an ancient form of classical music originating in North India, renders the formal principles and structures of this musical genre by purely cinematic means as a sensual orchestration of space and time. The film features the members of the Dagar family and the director’s own music teachers, Zia Mohiuddin Dagar, playing the rudra veena, a large stringed instrument, and his brother, the singer Faruddin Dagar.
Mani Kaul wrote about his film: “It is a music without notation. In a sense, it is not even possible to notate this music; it is too complex. There are continuously ascending and descending tones, and it is impossible to say that these tones follow this or that note. The tones are always traveling in the dissonant areas between notes. I was especially interested in how the Indian musicians transmit the tradition of their music orally. A student can study this music for years and never write a sentence in a notebook. You can only learn the music by continuously listening and practicing until you begin to elaborate it in your own way. The secret of the survival of the traditions of Indian music is deeply linked with opening the disposition of the disciple, the pupil.”
The film was introduced by Ashvin Devasundaram, Queen Mary, London.
In collaboration with the Courtisane Festival and the Otolith Group, and with the support of Birkbeck Institute for the Humanities.
Previews
1 - EFF18S6 Introduction (EFF18S6 Mani Kaul Dhrupad introduction Ashvin Devasundaram 24-3-2018.MP3)
Collection Method
Data Objects
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Metadata
| Dataset Title: | [EFF18S6] Session 6: Dhrupad/Mani Kaul |
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| Creators: | Temple, Michael and Barrington, Matthew |
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| Data collection method: | The Essay Film Festival, active since 2015, presents a global range of contemporary and restored essayistic works. The events are now archived here for research purposes. |
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| Statement on legal, ethical, and access issues: | All film stills were provided by participating artists. |
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| Depositing User: | Emma Yapp | ||||||||||||
| Date Deposited: | 01 Sep 2026 10:09 | ||||||||||||
| Last Modified: | 01 Sep 2026 10:09 | ||||||||||||
| Publisher: | Birkbeck College, University of London |
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2916-9876Impact & Reach
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