Date: 26th April 2019
Venue: Sirifort Auditorium

There are various modes of travel. All you have to do is keep your eyes and ears open. For the Sounds From The Desert – a musical evening comprising folk traditions of Rajasthan that was held at Siri Fort Auditorium last Friday evening.  While Kutle Khan, Coke Studio Fame, was the star performer, the whole band of musicians on stage was extremely instrumental (literally so) to make the program a success.

The host for the evening Mihir Joshi introduced the collaborators and the performers. Once the curtain rose, a singer among the musicians struck a perfect high note on his voice. The whole audience at Siri Fort looked up in surprise. He set the standard for the evening.

Kutle Khan was the lead male vocalists and he started popular numbers like “Padharo Mahre Des” and “Chaap Tilak”. Gafur Khan supported the songs with the wood clapper Khartaal. His body movement while playing the Khartaal was an act on its own.  The Nagara drum performance by the veteran Nathulal Solanki and his team reverberated around the high ceilings of the auditorium. The audience clapped along with the beat. The Khamayacha, perhaps the oldest bowed instrument of the world, gave the show the essential Rajasthani flavour. In fact, we are just back from Bikaner where we saw the desert. All the instruments on stage coupled with the soulful singing of Kutle Khan and his singers took us back to the desert again. Many in the audience tapped and swayed in their seats.  The only female vocalist Anita Kanwar Dangi was extremely talented and one could clearly see years of training in her voice.

And this was our take home that evening. While all renditions were Rajasthani folk, the music was deeply rooted in the Ragas and Talas of the Hindustani classical music system.  We had heard Kutle Khan before on many occasions, including Grub Fest and were familiar with his style. But the rest of the choir on stage was not just randomly talented. It was clear that they would have performed long training and regular riyaz or practice for years to reach this stage where not a single high note was missed. The lower notes at times sounded a tad weak, but that could be because of the general energetic nature of the Rajasthani folk music that was presented.

An interesting fusion angle was the modern drum kit played by Sparsh Sangam. If anything, it harmonised well with the folk music.

There was also a performance of the Ghoomar Dance of Rajasthan of Padmavat fame. Kutle Khan sang well but the dance seemed somewhat lackluster in comparison with the whole show.

Last but not least, we must mention the beautiful video on Rajasthan that played on a giant screen behind the artists. It was colourful and poignant and at times it seemed that the artists were moving in and out of the screen to the stage.  The clips of Udaipur made us very nostalgic.

The beautiful program reminded us of the Dharohar concert we saw at Bagore Ki Haveli, Udaipur. This was a beautiful musical journey to the heart of Rajasthan and any kind of travel is forever welcome.  The show was attended by many respected musicians like Sonam Kalra and Rahul Ram of Indian Ocean. The lovely evening was curated by Atul Churamani and organized by Showcase Events in association with Hindustan Times. They have set the bar high and we look forward to many more such fascinating events from them.