Gundecha Bandhu

Umakant and Ramakant Gundecha are India’s leading exponents of the Dhrupad style of music. They are among the most active  performers of Dhrupad in Indian and international circuits. Born in Ujjain in Central India, both were initiated  into music by their parents.

The Gundecha Brothers received conventional university education and learned the Dhrupad style from Dhrupad maestros Ustad Zia Fariduddin Dagar and Ustad Zia Mohiuddin Dagar. They have also sung Hindi poetry by Tulsidas, Kabir, Padmakar and Nirala in the Dhrupad style.

The bandhu and have also recorded over 25 cassettes and CDs with record labels in India and overseas.  They have also been broadcast on television in the UK, US, Germany France, Japan and on the radio in Australia.

From 1981 – 85, the Gundecha brothers received the Madhya Pradesh Govt. Scholarship, and the National Fellowship from 1987 to 89. They were conferred the Ustad Allauddin Khan Fellowship  in 1993, Sanskriti Award in 1994  and  Kumar Gandharva Award in 1998 by the Govt. of Madhaya Pradesh and the Dagar Gharana Award by the Mewar Foundation in 2001.

In 2012, they were awarded the Padmashree under the category Indian Classical Vocal.