Rajasthani music ? Flamenco ? Soca ? Reggae. The common aspect binding all these musical art forms is that they are rooted to Rajasthani folk music. And it would be exciting to explore this long-existing connection among these musical maestros on the same platform ? Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF), Jodhpur. The festival commences from October 1, the evening of Sharad Poornima, and ends with devotional musical performance at dawn of October 5. The festival aims ?at creating a music festival with a specific folk ethos ? where various genres of music can celebrate their essential vitality together with the Rajasthani; we are celebrating our roots,? says Divya Bhatia, Festival Director, Jodhpur RIFF. For long, the Royal family has patronised the poor artists and kept alive the vitality of Rajasthani Folk music. This festival aims at providing a platform to these folk artists, and helps create means of livelihood for them. Besides hundreds of Rajasthani artists, many Indian and international artists will also perform at the festival.
Highlights include a Flamenco performance from Spain, Dharohar-Rajasthani Folk with a contemporary twist, Swaratma-a young contemporary band from Bangalore who claims to be performing urban folk, and Trinidadian artists who will perform a careful amalgamation of Calypso, Soca and ?chutney soca? (a blend of Bhojpuri Folk and Calypso).
To valourising the art and artist, the festival will see the launch of a database comprising a list of 200 artists. While three generations of the Langa community of Rajasthan would come together on the stage to present their age-old legacy of folk music, it would be even more interesting to be able to find each of their names listed online. After all recognition matters! For the festival, Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur-Marwar has opened up the Mehrangarh Fort of Jodhpur and India?s two heritage trusts, Mehrangarh Museum Trust and Jaipur Virasat Foundation have come together in organising the festival.
Also for the first time the state government has come forward to share the financial burden along with the Taj Group of Hotels, which has been the biggest financial support ever since the festival has begun. The festival will pay its tribute to the legacy of European folk artists in their theme ? ?Homecoming? in 2010.
When dug deeper, we would find that these international folk traditions have some or the other links with the Rajasthani folk tradition. Spanish folk artists believe that their ancestors were Rajasthani and hence there are similarities in the language as well ? the Spanish call a Star ?tara?. Likewise, the Hungarian gypsies share their nomadic lifestyle with the Rajasthani nomadic tribes, while chutney soca has tinges of Bhojpuri folk music in it.