Zia Mohiuddin Dagar - Struggles and Hardships

Struggles and Hardships

After India gained independence the princely states were abolished. The Dagar family lost the patronage of the court of Udaipur, and had to seek employment elsewhere. Finally they arrived in Mumbai. For 25 years they had to make ends meet by working in garages, selling bread, and rarely, playing instruments for movie scores. They did not have a tanpura, sitar, or veena, let alone a house. There was much cynicism about dhrupad, as his son Baha'ud'din Mohiuddin Dagar recounted in an interview.

"Dhrupad? Who'll listen? Rudra veena? Play something else. Long alaaps? So boring!"

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