In February, the strains of soothing music will reverberate throughout Jodhpur. With the Sacred Spirit Festival (SSF), the Mehrangarh Museum Trust will captivate music lovers from all over the world. With the magnificent Mehrangarh Fort serving as the backdrop, it will go above and beyond in enthralling its guests with a stellar lineup of performers in a magnificent royal setting.
With its magnificent architecture and centuries-old history, Jodhpur’s Mehrangarh Fort offers a magnificent backdrop for the mingling of international musical traditions. It’s a stunning blend of spirituality, history and culture that gives guests the opportunity to take in Marwar’s global heritage and musical prowess in a setting rich in custom. This festival serves as a potent reminder of the unifying power of music, whether it be through captivating performances or original collaborations.
One of the most fascinating parts of the Sacred Spirit Festival is the collab between Rajasthani musicians and foreign artists. It’s a stunning illustration of how music, being a universal language, transcends all barriers. With their rich histories and distinctive soundscapes, musicians enhance and enhance performances. Bring a unique liveliness to the celebration with the Khartal’s deep rhythms, the Kamaicha or Sarangi’s melodies, or the Rajasthani versions of Sufi music in Raag Maand. International performers also bring their own unique inspirations with their own instruments, resulting in cross-cultural interactions and performances that are genuinely immersive and one-of-a-kind.
By combining their varied backgrounds, instruments, and approaches to produce something captivating, these collaborations can be a potent means for artists to gain knowledge from one another. The audience is also given a multifaceted experience, as they hear sounds they may not have heard previously and see the blending and harmonisation of several musical traditions in a truly thrilling setting!
This upcoming edition of Puliyattam Tiger Dance highlights the living customs of Adivasi tribes who continue to revere nature as sacred while conjuring a rich visual and spiritual landscape. It’s intriguing to consider how these age-old customs may be interpreted as both cultural customs and a sort of environmental message, highlighting the pressing need to preserve and honour nature. In this context, the notion of a “strong musical transmission from fathers to sons, mothers to daughters” feels especially important, suggesting that wisdom and music are not merely inherited but are instead lived, felt and transmitted across generations as a component of a wider, interwoven spiritual fabric.
Special performances by the Queen Sisters of Carnatic music, David Ambrogio, Perrine Bourel, Mana Serrano, Ranjini, Gayatri, the Sufi Deba Tradition of the Comoro Islands, the Puliyattam Dance from Tanjur, the Osei Kwame Korankye from Ghana and the Dudukner Ensemble from Armenia are among this year’s highlights. Padma Shri Anwar Khan Manganiyar and Talab Khan Manganiyar, S. Swaminathan, Naissam Jalal, Madan Gopal Singh and the Char Yaar Ensemble; Guru CS Anuroop and his pupil Parvathy Dileep; Dariya, Kilam, Sagar Ram and others are among the other festival highlights.