Jodhpur RIFF, the annual music festival endorsed UNESCO, returns after a two-year pandemic hiatus

Five months after the Jalori Gate violence over planting of flags sparked communal violence in Jodhpur followed stabbings, stone pelting, arrests and curfews, the strains of the sarangi, raw beats of khartaal and beautiful full moon nights will ring in Jodhpur RIFF (Rajasthan International Folk Festival), and some cheer when people from diverse communities will come together on one stage to perform together. The festival is usually led Rajasthani folk artes taking centre stage along with musicians from all over the country and rest of the world.
It may have begun as promoting the indigenous artes through these performances besides a commercial effort to find attention for the heritage city from people in and outside the country, but this year’s Jodhpur RIFF, which returns after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic, feels more of a message of peace and harmony, with its focus on the syncretic hory and heritage of the people of the land.
Sumitra Devi, the soulful vocal from Pali performs at Jodhpur RIFF (Source: Jodhpur RIFF/OIJO)
For centuries now, the caste arrangement in Rajasthan has been such that the Manganiars, considered a lower-caste Muslim community, have been attached to Rajasthan’s Rajput community, their jajmaan (patrons) for centuries. Manganiar literally means someone who survives begging. The musicians, for years, have performed at weddings, childbirth, and family festivities among others. A lot of their songs are in praise of Hindu deities and in celebration of Holi and Diwali. Krishna is often invoked in their music. While caste discrimination has persed for years (one of the musicians at the festival – legendary sindhi sarangi player and vocal Lakha Khan – was once refused tea and refreshments at a boutique hotel in Rajasthan from a waiter from a community considered upper caste), Khan, who will perform on Friday evening (October 7) with Anwar Baiya, one of the finest vocals in Rajasthan and flaut Pempa Manganiyar, will attempt to rise above the rigid caste system yet again, and through his music represent what any number of diplomatic talks haven’t managed. Khan will sing Ram and Krishna bhajans, Sufi qalams and folktales tied with melody in several languages including Marwari, Sindhi, Hindi, Punjabi and Multani. The music will reverberate inside the burly walls of the majestic 554-year-old Mehrangarh Fort, perched 400 metres above the city, at this year’s annual Jodhpur RIFF. The five-day festival will witness a bouquet of interesting performances, which have been lined up beside the regular folk fiesta that is part of the festival every year. For its work with many rural artes, the annual music and art festival is also endorsed UNESCO as People’s Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development.

The festival will open on October 6 with a range of Rajasthani folk artes at the parking lot of the Jaswant Thada, where a Rajasthani brass band and dhol drummers will be in attendance alongside Amsterdam-based jazz band Arifa, which has come up under the spotlight in the last decade merging Arabic and Turkish melodies with jazz and classical music.
RIFF is also one of the few festivals where one hears women musicians from the folk communities of Rajasthan. Most women aren’t allowed to perform in public. Bhawari Devi from Churu, who sang with her face covered on Coke Studio @MTV alongside Ram Sampath, broke those gender boundaries. She first met Sampath inside the ramparts of the Fort. This time Sumitra Devi, a folk musician who began her career singing at jagrans, and has collaborated with the Berlin Philharmonic and jazz outfit Yuri Honing trio, will be featured at the festival alongside Mohini Devi and mother-daughter duo Sundar and Ganga from Pali who sing spiritual songs. They will take the stage after Khan’s concert.

While Bombay Brass, a band led Rys Sebastian, one of India’s finest saxophon, is likely to have the audience on their feet on Day 3 (October 8) of the festival, Mauritian songwriter, dancer and activ Emlyn will bring forth the notes of Sega – a form of protest music that emerged among the slave population of the island. Sebastian will also lead the finale of the concert titled ‘RIFF Rustle’ on Day 4 (October 9), where musicians from various musical backgrounds come together for an hour of improvisation.
While the evenings at the festival will be a show of energy, it is the mornings at RIFF, some very interesting music with the sunrise, that has always found attention, audience and much affection. This year, Kabir panthi Prahlad Tipaniya is a significant name on that l. Tipaniya, a science teacher from a Dalit family from Luniya Khedi village in Madhya Pradesh’s Malwa region, sings of the secular and the sacred alongside a tamboura and a violin. While the Meghwals of Marwar – a weaver community – will sing bhajans and folklore, a slew of Khasi musicians from Meghalaya will sing the music of their tribe. One of the mornings will feature shabads and nirgun bhajans Jasleen Kaur Monga.
While Maharaja Gaj Singh of Jodhpur is the patron of the festival, its international patron is the famed English singer-songwriter and The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, who’s been spotted at the festival a couple of times in the past 15 years.
📣 For more lifestyle news, follow us on Instagram | Twitter | Facebook and don’t miss out on the latest updates!