Inherited songs

At the festival,Bhardwaj will be performing alongside the minstrels of Langa and Mangania communities who will showcase the traditional music of Rajasthan,European gypsy music,flamenco and urban folk music. “I will be collaborating with the Maand musicians of Rajasthan,Bhanwari Devi and Rehana Mirza — all stalwarts in folk music. It is an honour for me to be invited by these people to sing alongside them.”

Besides,Bhardwaj will also be singing a thumri and a couple of Sufi songs at the concert. “I plan to sing the Sufi number Teri raza,Tere ishq main and the other songs I will decide once I am there,” she confidently says.

Bhardwaj is all praises for the festival that is trying to revive dying folk musical genres of the state and will promote the traditional music of the European gypsies,who are said to have migrated from Rajasthan at least 1,000 years ago. The singer,who will be performing on the evening of October 2,wishes this festival could provide local talent the much needed support and encouragement. “I am not aware of any other festival in the country that promotes folk music on such a large scale. With people busy with their lives and professions,folk music has taken a backseat,” she feels.

For all folk music aspirants,Bhardwaj has a word of advice,“It is the simplest form of music; the beauty of folk is that it is part of your being. You listen,inherit and then sing. It is the rawness of your voice that matters the most. So people shouldn’t avoid it thinking it’s difficult. All you need to do is practices everyday,” says the singer.

So at any point is it difficult to switch back and forth between folk and Bollywood music? “I do my riyaaz regularly. With Bollywood,only some songs remain with you,the rest you sing and forget. All music is born out of folk music,” says the woman who regularly listens to Mehndi Hasan,Lata Mangeshkar and jazz. Her newer film projects include Abhishek Chaubey’s Ishqiya,Anil Sharma’s Veer,Mani Ratnam’s Ravana,and a couple of films with Shankar,Ehsaan and Loy.