Desert fusion

Sultan Khan, a representative of the Indore Gharana, is internationally renowned and he feels that it is the duty of classical musicians to reach down to folk musicians and help them attain the audience they deserve. 8220;Classical music requires a lot of discipline. But thats not the case with folk music. In most villages, the musicians will start playing anytime and anywhere and their audience will still be satisfied. So it8217;s difficult for folk musicians to come up to our level. But we can certainly reach down to them.8221;

Manganiyar, who is well-known by connoisseurs of folk music, was to have performed with the Ustad at the

Jodhpur Rajasthan International Folk Festival earlier this year, which was cancelled.

The stalwart feels that in collaboration such as Maru Tarang, the idea is not just to get an audience to listen; they have to be trained to listen consciously and with great attention. 8220;Folk music has been given exposure, that8217;s for sure. People invite them to festivals and get them to play there and most people see the colourful dresses and are satisfied. Or they listen to some folk tunes in movies and think they8217;ve heard it all. But they don8217;t really understand the music,8221; he says.

Sultan Khan feels that the Jaipur Virasat Foundation JVF, which has brought Maru Tarang to Mumbai, is doing exemplary work in this regard. 8220;I agreed to be a part of this show because I feel the same way that they do. Folk musicians, even when they8217;re very good, just don8217;t get enough recognition.8221; But even as he agreed to do the show, he was clear that he would perform only with someone of the calibre of Manganiyar. 8220;We8217;re both from Rajasthan,8221; he says, by way of explanation, 8220;So we both heard of each other. But this is the first time that we8217;re working together.8221;

Divya Bharti, artistic director of the JVF, echoes Sultan Khan8217;s sentiments. She adds, 8220;The folk tradition in Rajasthan is very strong, but many of these artists are very poor. They8217;re unemployed during the non-tourist season which lasts for half a year. So we conceived this idea and decided to create such livelihood opportunities for them. This way they also get a lot more exposure.8221;