Dance, Drama, Music! Jodhpur RIFF Plugs Audiences In

Percussion masters from India and Azerbaijan, tributes to a Hindustani classical icon, a Carnatic dawn concert, dance and drama from the roots traditions, films on music, a fusion of classical and folk sarangi, qawwali, breathtaking electronica— these are only some of the experiential snapshots audiences took away from another fulfilling day (and marvellously moonlit night) at Jodhpur RIFF 2024.

The sun rose, at Jodhpur RIFF, with the versatile ‘vocal gymnast' Chandana Bala Kalyan, rooted in Carnatic classical but capable of traversing genres like Sufi and jazz with ease. This versatility and depth was at show on the morning of 18th October, as she introduced delighted audiences to varnam, gana stuti, kriti, devaranama and tillana, presenting special compositions in the rare Bhatiyar, Bauli, Malayamarutam and Vibhas ragas, even as the dawn rode in to Mehrangarh. Next, festivallers were treated to an immersive exposition on the lavani (derived from ‘lavanya', meaning graceful beauty), a folk dance form originally performed in a nauvari (nine yard long) saree, in the 18th and 19th centuries by shepherd communities for Maratha nobility in Maharashtra and Southern Madhya Pradesh, and popularised by V Shantaram's film Pinjara. The session was led by accomplished actress, dance tutor, choreographer and kathak and lavani expert Aditi Bhagwat — also the United States Department of State Fellow under the Cultural Exchange Program ‘One Beat' — known for successfully blending traditional and contemporary styles in her performance.

And if the lavani enters and exits stage then can the Tamasha be far behind? Only, while the Tamasha is commonly associated with Maharashtra, Jodhpur RIFF's ‘In Residence' session after the Lavani bootcamp, on October 18, comprised an illuminating birds eye view of the history of the 250 year old history of the ‘Jaipur Tamasha', combining music (classical, semi-classical and folk melody, which also led to this form being called ‘Khayal Tamasha'), acting and movement for socially relevant storytelling. The session was steered by the Tamasha's primary custodian and Jodhpur RIFF's very own staff member Dilip Bhatt — son of leading exponent Gopi Bhatt — who has revived this form, bringing together over hundreds of young artists to revitalise it.

This was followed by the screening of two films on music — Breaking the Silence: The Music of Afghanistan and Sufi Soul: The Mystic Music of Islam — by leading world music journalist, ex-editor of Songlines magazine and filmmaker Simon Broughton, who was there in person to talk about his work. Next, audiences made their way to a stunning moonrise session at Jaswant Thada, where, Jodhpur RIFF celebrated the advent of Sharad Purnima with a tribute to a musical legend of post independent India: Pandit Chintaman Raghunath Vyas— an iconic vocalist and institution in himself, who penned over 200 bandishes under the pen name Gunijaan, instituted the Gunijan Sammelan in memory of his guru Gunidas and spawned geniuses under his tutelage, such as Pandit Jitendra Abhishekhi, Suhas Vyas (his son), Ganapati Bhat, Prabhakar Karekar, and Alka Joglekar. Multi-gold medalist Hindustani classical vocalist Anuja Zokarkar — an ‘A' grade artist with All India Radio — led the tribute, accompanied by talented vocalist Kedar Kelkar, Dhyaneshwar Sonawane on the harmonium and Prasad Padhye on the tabla. CR Vyas's son Shashi Vyas, founder-director of the leading Indian classical music company Pancham Nishad, facilitated the session.

The evening's performances at the Zenana Courtyard kicked off with Dayam Khan Manganiyar, one of Rajasthan's most gifted vocalists, known for being the voice of the group Dhun Dhora, especially in their collaboration with Scottish acid-croft band Shooglenifty, and appearances in Scotland, the Commonwealth Games in 2014, Celtic Connections, the Edinburgh Festival. If Dayam Khan's singing makes up a key part of tracks like Jog yer Bones, Dhoriye and Bovaglie's Plaid in the album Written in Water, on the evening of 18th October he enthralled audiences by presenting his own group to them for the first time, bringing alive traditional songs of the Manganiyar community in the magical confines of Mehrangarh's Zenana Courtyard. He was followed by dancer, theatre artist, multi-instrumentalist and environmental activist Emlyn Marimutu who blended island drums (Sega Tipik) with modern music to present a ‘new traditional' Mauritian sound to the audience, which took to dancing soon after Emlyn took to the stage. Marimutu, whose soulful songs are often inspired by nature, and who makes some of her instruments herself, from upcycled material, infused her performance with spells and spirited dancing, combining African, Malagasy and Indian influences.

Next, Jodhpur RIFF Festival Director Divya Bhatia presented the maturing of a groundbreaking collaboration he had produced between classical and folk music, with Aga Khan Music Award recipients Asin Khan Langa on the Sindhi sarangi and Dilshad Khan on the classical sarangi. The collaboration had originally been produced by Bhatia as a 6.5 minute collaboration for the Aga Khan Music Awards 2020-22. Now, for Jodhpur RIFF 2024, it was extended to a soul-stirring 40 minute collaboration between two maestros who took audiences on a musical journey unlike any they had experienced before. This was followed, much to the pleasure of the festival's listeners, by young Rajasthani dholak players led by a master and a star, and a recipient of the coveted Ustad Bismillah Khan Yuva Puraskar: Firoze Khan Manganiyar, whose nuanced dholak performance is unmatched by any in the region. Azerbaijani percussion followed Rajasthani, with Natig Shirinov, a master of the Azeri nagara and leading rhythm composer — and winner of the Grand Prix Award at the World Percussion Performance Art Festival in Geumsan, Korea — who has transformed the traditional naghara, rescuing it from irrelevance, blending national rhythms with global influences. Even as audiences clapped to his rhythm (upon his call) Shirinov showcased his repertoire of rhythms at Jodhpur RIFF 2024, till they were up on their feet and dancing. The evening at the Zenana Courtyard ended with the Warsi Brothers Naseer and Nazeer Ahmed Khan Warsi from Hyderabad, among the finest qawwals in the Indian subcontinent, the ‘qawwal bachche of the Delhi gharana'. On popular demand, the brothers performed well beyond the time they had planned for, rendering in their powerful voices both lesser known compositions of Sufi kalaam as well as popular pieces like ‘Chaap Tilak' and ‘Dam-a-Dam Mast Qalandar' which echoed across the vast courtyard, bringing audience members to their feet in cheers.

The night moved on to Mehrangarh's Salimkot with Club Mehran, featuring Colombian talent Alejandra Gomez or Chonta DJ. Founder and director of Biche, an alternative music production house and cofounder of the collective Todopoderosa for gender diversity in the Latin independent music scene, Chonta DJ brought forth a fusion of modern and traditional grooves, followed by a giant from the world of electronica, Deep Forest founder and Grammy winner Eric Mouquet (the first French electronic act to win this). Mouquet, known for integrating sounds gathered from his travels and meeting musicians from around the world, has sold over 10 million albums and has over 100 million streams to his name, but his true impact on the world of electronic music and its fans could be gauged by the fact that people from all age groups packed Salimkot to sway to his world music set, as if in a trance. The night was closed, after this, by Mumbai's DJ Farhan, one of India's most underrated mix masters, host of the monthly show The House of Juju, with a seamless fusion of afro, worldbeat, funk, jazz, house, disco, and everything in between.

About Jodhpur RIFF

Timed to coincide with Sharad Purnima, the brightest full moon of the year in North India, Jodhpur RIFF features a series of spectacular concerts and events based in and around Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. HH Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur is the Chief Patron of the festival and Sir Mick Jagger is its International Patron. Mr. Divya Bhatia has been the Festival Director since 2008.

Jodhpur RIFF is a not-for-profit festival, committed to supporting the root music traditions. The festival takes place under the aegis of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust.

Photo Credit: Jodhpur RIFF/OIJO. 

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