By Harleen Kaur Jaggi
Come October, Jodhpur’s iconic Mehrangarh Fort will once again reverberate with the sound of folk music from across the world including Bhutan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Syria, Switzerland, Portugal, the UK, Poland, Finland, Spain, Canada and Colombia, besides India. Like in previous years, the 18th edition of Jodhpur RIFF will serve as a platform to share the finest of folk traditions—presented through midnight jams, dawn concerts, fort festivities, unique collaborations, and more—across five days in the ‘blue city’ of Rajasthan.
Divya Bhatia, director of Jodhpur RIFF, says, “The festival, for nearly two decades, has facilitated the drive to innovate and work with unwavering conviction that music is a live conversation across time and space.”
A confluence of cultures
“This year’s edition lifts this spirit even higher, inviting audiences to listen more carefully, to open up to legacy and to hear the freshness that each performance contains, experiencing how living traditions can remain timeless while speaking vividly to us about today,” adds Bhatia.
This year, Jodhpur RIFF will play host to legends like Lakha Khan of the 27-string Sindhi Sarangi, Sawan Khan from the Manganiyar community, Syrian-origin saxophonist Basel Rajoub and devotional singer Mahesaram Meghwal, among many others.
Talking about the richness of Rajasthani folk music, Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur, patron of Jodhpur RIFF, says, “The extraordinary range and skill of Rajasthan’s folk artistes places them among the finest roots musicians in the world. Their music is a reflection of a lineage going back generations but also a living, evolving art form, one that some are reinterpreting for today’s generation.”
“Jodhpur RIFF was conceived to nurture this journey, offering both a world stage for our folk traditions and an inspiring meeting ground with musicians from across the globe,” he adds.
Preserving and innovating tradition
The festival, which is set to coincide with Sharad Purnima—the brightest full moon of the year, will also shine a spotlight on various instrumentals such as santoor and tabla performance by Pandit Satish Vyas, Bhutanese drangyen and chiwang by Sonam Dorji and Finnish fiddle by Emilia Lajunen. Rajasthani percussion will feature prominently with dholak, khartal and bhapang artistes taking the stage alongside Colombian beats, Afro-Latin percussion, and jazz-inflected drum sets.
Other artistes performing at the festival will be Hindustani classical vocalist Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Anita and Prem Dangi of the Damami community, Karolina Cicha from Poland, Rajasthani mother-daughter duo Ganga and Sundar, Uzbeki singer Gulzoda Khudoynazarova and Kazakhstan’s Layla Tazhibayeva.
Beyond the festival, Jodhpur RIFF works throughout the year with Rajasthani folk musicians, while creating livelihood opportunities, and facilitating collaborations. It also plays a major role in bridging the gap between the modern and traditional music ecosystem and developing new audiences for traditional music.
