Gypsy Swings

As Spanish guitar legend Pepe el Habichuela and his son Josemi Carmona arrived on stage with a folk music troupe from Jodhpur on Thursday,there was no inkling that the evening would mark a family reunion of sorts. The event,at the Spanish Ambassador’s house,was to celebrate new ties between the Mehrangarh Museum Trust of Jodhpur,Fundacion Cante de las Minas (Spain’s premier flamenco organisation) and the Spanish embassy.

Gaj Singh II,the patron of the Mehrangarh Trust,said the event was a result of an MoU inked with Spain to get a flamenco festival to India. “Gypsies all over the world trace their lineage to India,with a significant wave migrating from Rajasthan. The Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival will celebrate this relationship,” he said. The first edition of this gypsy music festival will be held in Jodhpur from March 13 to 15,2014.

The Ambassador of Spain,Francisco Javier Elorza Cavengt,added,“The musicians from Jodhpur and the Habichuelas have barely practised together for three days and they don’t even share the language. It is only through the common roots of gypsy music that they understand each other.”

As the father-son duo strummed their guitar,the loud voices of the Kalbelia singers of Jodhpur provided an unusual complement. The cultural bloodlines entwined further when a flamenco dancer arrived on the stage and matched steps with a troupe of Kalbelias. An overwhelmed audience gave them a long ovation and crowded around the performers as soon as they were done.

Nikita Puri