Divya Bhatia: ‘Folk and classical music have much to gain from each other’

It is not difficult to be enthusiastic about good music and fantastic musicians. And there are so many in Rajasthan, in India, and around the world! A key luxury of my work is also its key challenge – listening to and watching hundreds of wonderful artists perform and then choosing just a few among them every year, to present at Jodhpur RIFF. We have been able to introduce so many great artists and forms of music to our audiences. The gems on this year’s itinerary include storytelling and song by the elders of the Langa community, Yurdal Tokcan, Emlyn, SAZ (Sadiq Khan, Asin Khan, Zaqir Khan), and Citadels of the Sun. 

Many of the performers this year sang the verses of Bhakti and Sufi poets such as Mirabai, Kabir, Dadu, Khusrau, Gorakhnath and Bulleh Shah. What makes this poetry resonate with contemporary audiences?

We are all sentient beings with spirit, governed in a large part by a universal energy that flows through all of us but is not of our making. This spirit needs to flow but also needs nourishment. The timeless words of our saint poets set to profoundly simple tunes, performed by superb artists, provides that nourishment – across generations, irrespective of creed, gender or social standing.

Your last festival was in 2019. How did Jodhpur RIFF and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust support musicians and other performers during the Covid-19 pandemic? 

I was able to raise a decent sum of money on behalf of Jodhpur RIFF through our festival audiences, patrons, partners, friends and well-wishers, under the aegis of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust. A few team members were involved in providing some relief to artists spread across 60 villages in Rajasthan – mainly food aid, but also financial and medical aid. Intermittently, over a 14-month period, three cycles of aid were provided. We were able to positively impact almost 2000 families. 

What is the cultural significance of hosting this festival around Sharad Poornima?

We all relate to the moon in one way or another. Our panchang reflects how significant the moon is to our lives. Farmers everywhere follow time and the seasons with the moon. Cultures across the world, whether through science or through myth, acknowledge and value the importance of the moon. Recognised as the brightest moon in north India, Sharad Poornima signifies renewal and continuity. It is the perfect metaphor for our work with the traditional artists of Rajasthan.

Modern societies have learned to enjoy life in abstract and fragmented ways, often creating specialisations and separations where none existed earlier. So it is great to be able to develop a festival celebrating the oneness of the arts, with music at its core. There was a time when all of society lived in holistic congruence and their songs and music reflected essential connections rather than a synergy. I like to think that, in its own way, the audience can experience that at Jodhpur RIFF.

How do you strike a balance between bringing back popular acts that get claps and whistles, and introducing audiences to performers who are an acquired taste?

It is not a balance; it is a cycle. What is an acquired taste today can become popular demand tomorrow, provided the conditions and the experience are right. If an artist or a form of music nourishes the audience today, they will gladly take more of that tomorrow. This is how we have developed an audience with a taste for Jodhpur RIFF’s live roots energy, global curation and exciting collaborations. No headliners, no celebrities, no recorded music. This does not happen overnight though.

Given your experience in theatre and cinema as an actor as well as a producer, what tips do you offer performers in terms of stage presence and audience interaction?

I rarely do. On occasion, I have asked artists to smile a bit more or look audience members in their eyes. Most Rajasthani folk musicians have such incredible talent and have such vibrant, vivacious and visceral energy, there is much to learn from them as performers.

It seems that Jodhpur RIFF would be of interest to scholars of ethnomusicology, performance studies, literature and folklore. Tell us about any books, films or research studies that have emerged in response to the festival from audiences.

There are three different films that come to mind. Partners in Crime is a documentary film by Paromita Vohra on copyright issues. The Lost Music of Rajasthan, which is directed by Jill Nicholls, is a BBC documentary on the ethos of our work and the festival. Don Coutts’ Heading West is a documentary on a band called Shooglenifty from Scotland, their frontman Angus Grant, and their connection with Rajasthani musicians and the Jodhpur RIFF festival.

This binary is a truly unfortunate one, and it comes with immense social baggage so it easily unsettles. Unfortunately, it’s the musicians who have to carry that baggage. I am sure that stories abound but here is a related anecdote: I remember producing a shraddhanjali concert, the very first performance at the NCPA after the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

The premise was to begin a dialogue between two masters of the folk and classical sarangi and have them play together – Padma Shri Lakha Khan Manganiyar on the Sindhi Sarangi and the late Padma Bhushan Ustad Sultan Khan on its classical avatar; both artists from Rajasthan, and both extremely respectful of each other. But when I first brought up the idea with them, neither was enthusiastic. Lakaha ji said “Kaise hoga yeh?” (How will this be possible?) Ustad Sahab laughed dismissively and said “Ya classical folk ko kha jaayega, ya folk classical ko.” (Either the classical will eat up the folk or vice versa). We had actually witnessed something precisely like that at the very first Jodhpur RIFF, the previous year. 

The point I am making here is that addressing this is akin to chipping away at a delicate stone sculpture. One has to be extremely careful not to damage the core of the material. And yet, the greatest resistance is from the material itself. In this case, that’s the artist. So, the real challenge is to create a safe space for the artists so that they can willingly explore this dynamic together. And rather than see folk and classical as chalk and cheese, they are ready themselves to discover and unravel the immense musical richness that exists within the dynamic. I believe that each one of them has much to gain from the other.

Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer, journalist and book reviewer.

It is not difficult to be enthusiastic about good music and fantastic musicians. And there are so many in Rajasthan, in India, and around the world! A key luxury of my work is also its key challenge – listening to and watching hundreds of wonderful artists perform and then choosing just a few among them every year, to present at Jodhpur RIFF. We have been able to introduce so many great artists and forms of music to our audiences. The gems on this year’s itinerary include storytelling and song by the elders of the Langa community, Yurdal Tokcan, Emlyn, SAZ (Sadiq Khan, Asin Khan, Zaqir Khan), and Citadels of the Sun. 

Many of the performers this year sang the verses of Bhakti and Sufi poets such as Mirabai, Kabir, Dadu, Khusrau, Gorakhnath and Bulleh Shah. What makes this poetry resonate with contemporary audiences?

We are all sentient beings with spirit, governed in a large part by a universal energy that flows through all of us but is not of our making. This spirit needs to flow but also needs nourishment. The timeless words of our saint poets set to profoundly simple tunes, performed by superb artists, provides that nourishment – across generations, irrespective of creed, gender or social standing.

Your last festival was in 2019. How did Jodhpur RIFF and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust support musicians and other performers during the Covid-19 pandemic? 

I was able to raise a decent sum of money on behalf of Jodhpur RIFF through our festival audiences, patrons, partners, friends and well-wishers, under the aegis of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust. A few team members were involved in providing some relief to artists spread across 60 villages in Rajasthan – mainly food aid, but also financial and medical aid. Intermittently, over a 14-month period, three cycles of aid were provided. We were able to positively impact almost 2000 families. 

What is the cultural significance of hosting this festival around Sharad Poornima?

We all relate to the moon in one way or another. Our panchang reflects how significant the moon is to our lives. Farmers everywhere follow time and the seasons with the moon. Cultures across the world, whether through science or through myth, acknowledge and value the importance of the moon. Recognised as the brightest moon in north India, Sharad Poornima signifies renewal and continuity. It is the perfect metaphor for our work with the traditional artists of Rajasthan.

Modern societies have learned to enjoy life in abstract and fragmented ways, often creating specialisations and separations where none existed earlier. So it is great to be able to develop a festival celebrating the oneness of the arts, with music at its core. There was a time when all of society lived in holistic congruence and their songs and music reflected essential connections rather than a synergy. I like to think that, in its own way, the audience can experience that at Jodhpur RIFF.

How do you strike a balance between bringing back popular acts that get claps and whistles, and introducing audiences to performers who are an acquired taste?

It is not a balance; it is a cycle. What is an acquired taste today can become popular demand tomorrow, provided the conditions and the experience are right. If an artist or a form of music nourishes the audience today, they will gladly take more of that tomorrow. This is how we have developed an audience with a taste for Jodhpur RIFF’s live roots energy, global curation and exciting collaborations. No headliners, no celebrities, no recorded music. This does not happen overnight though.

Given your experience in theatre and cinema as an actor as well as a producer, what tips do you offer performers in terms of stage presence and audience interaction?

I rarely do. On occasion, I have asked artists to smile a bit more or look audience members in their eyes. Most Rajasthani folk musicians have such incredible talent and have such vibrant, vivacious and visceral energy, there is much to learn from them as performers.

It seems that Jodhpur RIFF would be of interest to scholars of ethnomusicology, performance studies, literature and folklore. Tell us about any books, films or research studies that have emerged in response to the festival from audiences.

There are three different films that come to mind. Partners in Crime is a documentary film by Paromita Vohra on copyright issues. The Lost Music of Rajasthan, which is directed by Jill Nicholls, is a BBC documentary on the ethos of our work and the festival. Don Coutts’ Heading West is a documentary on a band called Shooglenifty from Scotland, their frontman Angus Grant, and their connection with Rajasthani musicians and the Jodhpur RIFF festival.

This binary is a truly unfortunate one, and it comes with immense social baggage so it easily unsettles. Unfortunately, it’s the musicians who have to carry that baggage. I am sure that stories abound but here is a related anecdote: I remember producing a shraddhanjali concert, the very first performance at the NCPA after the Mumbai attacks in 2008.

The premise was to begin a dialogue between two masters of the folk and classical sarangi and have them play together – Padma Shri Lakha Khan Manganiyar on the Sindhi Sarangi and the late Padma Bhushan Ustad Sultan Khan on its classical avatar; both artists from Rajasthan, and both extremely respectful of each other. But when I first brought up the idea with them, neither was enthusiastic. Lakaha ji said “Kaise hoga yeh?” (How will this be possible?) Ustad Sahab laughed dismissively and said “Ya classical folk ko kha jaayega, ya folk classical ko.” (Either the classical will eat up the folk or vice versa). We had actually witnessed something precisely like that at the very first Jodhpur RIFF, the previous year. 

The point I am making here is that addressing this is akin to chipping away at a delicate stone sculpture. One has to be extremely careful not to damage the core of the material. And yet, the greatest resistance is from the material itself. In this case, that’s the artist. So, the real challenge is to create a safe space for the artists so that they can willingly explore this dynamic together. And rather than see folk and classical as chalk and cheese, they are ready themselves to discover and unravel the immense musical richness that exists within the dynamic. I believe that each one of them has much to gain from the other.

Chintan Girish Modi is a freelance writer, journalist and book reviewer.