Renowned worldwide as one of the foremost Dhrupad vocalists, Uday Bhawalkar believes that when immersed in the raga, the self disappears and music takes on its own existence – the principle of ‘darshan’ in Indian philosophy. Although Dhrupad is one of the oldest forms of North Indian classical music, it is a living and evolving classical music tradition in which Mr. Bhawalkar has developed a unique style. He spent more than 12 years studying and living in the traditional guru-shishya parampara with Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar (Vocal) and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar (Rudra-Veena), the towering pillars of the Dhrupad tradition.
He has performed in a number of prestigious festivals and events in India and abroad including in Europe, USA, Canada, Mexico, and Singapore and has also collaborated with artists from other disciplines and cultures. He has contributed to the soundtracks of many films including Mani Kaul’s Cloud Door. In addition, Mr. Bhawalkar is also a teacher of Dhrupad and has taught internationally at institutions such as the Rotterdam Music Conservatory, the University of Washington (Seattle), and the Asian Music Circuit (London), to name a few. He is a Guru at the ITC Sangeet Research Academy in Kolkata, India and is also a Guru at the Bengal Foundation’s Parampara Sangeetalay, Dhaka, Bangladesh.