Art Beyond Hype

About the art of art, rather than the commerce of art

Dhrupad retreat in Santiniketan

Two-storey peach-coloured building with a balcony and a tall red-brown pillar, seen through a wire fence and green leaves under a blue sky

An Immersive Journey into Sound, Silence and Tradition

28 February – 7 March 2027 | Santiniketan, West Bengal, India

Tall leafy green trees seen from below, with a patch of pale sky at the top

There are places where art is created, places where it is performed, and there are places where art becomes a way of life. Santiniketan is one such place.

Set amidst the distinctive landscape of West Bengal, Santiniketan has long been regarded as an epicentre of Indian art, culture, learning and creative thought. It was here that Rabindranath Tagore, poet, philosopher, educationist and the first Indian Nobel Laureate (1913), envisioned a space where learning could transcend the boundaries of the classroom and where art, nature, music and human experience could exist in harmony. His vision gave birth to an extraordinary cultural environment whose influence continues to resonate across generations.

In September 2023, Santiniketan was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, recognising its outstanding cultural significance and its unique contribution to the intellectual and artistic history of India.

Ornate green iron arch and gate in front of a glass-windowed building with a tiled roof, framed by tree branches

It is in this remarkable setting that Nadachakra, in collaboration with Art Beyond Hype, invites musicians, seekers and lovers of sound to come together for an immersive week dedicated to the ancient tradition of Dhrupad.

From 28 February – 7 March 2027, Santiniketan will become a space for listening, learning, practice and reflection—a space where the timeless language of Dhrupad can meet the living cultural landscape of Bengal.

A Journey into Dhrupad

Dhrupad is among the oldest surviving traditions of North Indian classical music. Emerging from the ancient practice of chanting and the Sanskrit prabandha tradition, Dhrupad gradually developed into a highly refined musical form, taking a distinctive shape during the sixteenth century.

The tradition is closely associated with the saint-musician, poet and teacher Swami Haridas, whose musical lineage included legendary figures such as Tansen and Baiju. Through the centuries, Dhrupad evolved as an unbroken oral tradition, preserving a profound tradition of knowledge concerning melody, intonation, rhythm, poetry and the disciplined exploration of sound.

At its heart, Dhrupad is an art of listening.

It begins with the exploration of a single sound and the gradual unfolding of a raga. The relationship between the voice, the tonic, silence and melodic movement becomes a process of discovery. Precision of intonation, subtle shades of pitch, controlled breath, rhythmic awareness, improvisation and the interpretation of poetic text are brought together through sustained practice.

But Dhrupad is more than a musical technique.

Its spaciousness and meditative character offer the practitioner an opportunity to move beyond the immediate self—to listen more deeply, to experience silence more consciously, and to discover the extraordinary depth contained within sound.

Participants seated on rugs on a terrace around a tanpura and a drum, listening to a man in white seated in a chair, with leafy trees beyond

A Retreat, Rather Than Just a Workshop

The proposed retreat in Santiniketan is conceived not simply as a conventional music workshop.

It is an immersive environment for Dhrupad.

For one week, participants will have the opportunity to step away from the pace of everyday life and enter into a sustained process of practice, listening, reflection and exchange. The cultural landscape of Santiniketan will become an integral part of this experience, allowing music, nature and community to accompany the learning process.

Participants seated on the floor of a room around a large tanpura, listening to a man in white who sits on a bed holding papers

The workshop will be guided by Pandit Nirmalya Dey, whose teaching will provide participants with an opportunity to engage with Dhrupad through both practical exploration and an understanding of its deeper aesthetic and philosophical dimensions.

Whether one approaches Dhrupad as a performing musician, a student, a serious listener, or simply as a seeker drawn to the transformative possibilities of sound, the workshop is intended to create a space for sincere engagement with this remarkable tradition.

Continuing a Living Tradition

Since 2016, Nadachakra, in collaboration with Art Beyond Hype, has been organising Dhrupad workshops as part of an ongoing educational initiative dedicated to sustaining and sharing this ancient musical tradition.

Over the years, these workshops have travelled across India, with programmes held in Varanasi, Dharamkot, Rishikesh and Gular in Uttarakhand. The response has been deeply encouraging. Musicians and students from India and abroad have returned to participate in successive chapters of the workshops, creating a growing community of practitioners and listeners.

A particularly meaningful aspect of this journey has been the enthusiasm of younger participants. Their sustained interest and repeated participation have reinforced our belief that the future of Dhrupad depends not only on preserving its history, but on creating opportunities for a new generation to encounter, understand and practise the tradition.

Our purpose is therefore both simple and far-reaching: to preserve Dhrupad by sharing it.

The workshops bring together aesthetic understanding, theoretical knowledge and practical training, supported by continued engagement and follow-up sessions. In this way, learning is not treated as a single event, but as an evolving relationship between teacher, student, music and community.

Group portrait of participants standing and sitting together indoors, two of them holding colourful prints

Dhrupad and the Musical Heritage of Bengal

The choice of Santiniketan carries an even deeper significance.

Dhrupad occupies an important place in the classical musical heritage of Bengal. Among its most distinctive traditions is the Vishnupur school of Dhrupad, which flourished under the patronage of the rulers of Vishnupur and developed a unique identity within the wider landscape of Indian classical music.

Generations of distinguished musicians—including Bahadur Khan, Ramsharan Bhattacharya, Jadunath Bhattacharya, Satyakinkar Banerjee, Radhikaprasad Goswami and Gopeswar Bandopadhyay—helped preserve, develop and propagate this tradition.

Thus, bringing Dhrupad to Santiniketan is not merely a choice of venue. It is a return to a cultural landscape in which music, literature, philosophy, education and the arts have long existed in dialogue with one another.

Tagore's Santiniketan sought to create precisely such a dialogue: between tradition and modernity, between human beings and nature, and between different forms of artistic expression.

Dhrupad, with its deep roots in India's spiritual, poetic and musical traditions, finds a natural resonance in this vision.

An Invitation to Listen

From 28 February to 7 March 2027, we invite you to join us in Santiniketan for a week of Dhrupad—not merely to learn songs or techniques, but to experience a tradition through attentive listening, disciplined practice and shared exploration.

  • To sit with the tanpura
  • To discover the subtle movement of a swār
  • To experience the unfolding of a rāga without haste
  • To understand the relationship between sound and silence
  • To practise, listen, reflect and return to the sound again

Two women sit cross-legged on rugs on a veranda, one holding a tanpura, in front of a carved wooden wall relief of a seated figure with a stringed instrument

The retreat centres around several key areas:

  • Voice and resonance training, including kharaj (early morning practice), tone, and breath control
  • Alāp: the meditative, slow unfolding of rāga
  • Improvisation and rhythmic development
  • Poetic and compositional elements of Dhrupad

A typical day at the retreat maintains a harmonious balance between structure and spaciousness:

  • Early morning kharaj practice at sunrise by the splash green nature
  • Group sessions focusing on rāga exploration and voice work in the morning
  • Afternoon sessions dedicated to contemplative practice and personalized guidance
  • Evening gatherings featuring collective discussions and exchange musical experience

Ample time is also provided for silent walks, rest, and reflection, allowing the body and voice to absorb and integrate the day's practice.

Who Can Join:

The retreat welcomes vocalists, instrumentalists, students of music, and seekers of meditation through sound. No prior experience in Dhrupad is required; however, a willingness to engage in intensive practice and attentive listening is essential. Participants arrive from diverse backgrounds, including musicians, yoga practitioners, educators, and individuals seeking inner stillness.

A man in white sits cross-legged on a mat under trees talking with a man in a dark jacket, while a woman holds a tanpura and a phone on a stand records

What Makes This Retreat Unique

In the spirit of Santiniketan, this workshop seeks to create a space where music becomes learning, learning becomes experience, and experience becomes a deeper way of listening.

Dhrupad retreat in Santiniketan 2027 is an invitation to enter that space.

Seven days. One tradition. An infinite world of sound.

Closing:

The Dhrupad Retreat 2027 in Santiniketan invites you to pause, listen deeply, and immerse yourself in the timeless river of sound. Over seven days, you will experience more than just a musical tradition— you will enter a way of being where sound, silence, and nature converge.

Please have glimpses of previous retreats:

Retreat 2016:

Retreat 2025:

Retreat 2026: