The Jaipur ghat in Pushkar was calm as the sea, bathed in moonlight. It was the lull before the storm. The candles around the stage flickered in the cold winter breeze. Soft twang of iktaras and sitars, light taps on tablas and clearing of throats could be heard off and on as artists prepared for a festival that is fast becoming an important bookmark in the calendar of this religiously rich town of Rajasthan.
Organised by Teamwork Arts (the group behind Jaipur Literature Festival), the second edition of the festival witnessed some soulful performances from artists, who travelled to Pushkar from all over the country and from across the world.
This year the theme revolved around music, healing, wellness and inner happiness. On both days, activities started early morning with an hour-long session of Tibetan yoga with ZaChoeje Rinpoche and meditation sessions with Geshe Dorji Dambul. The days witnessed rousing recitals by classical singer Pt Madhup Mudgal, pakhawaj exponent Pt Bhavani Shankar, vocalist Sukriti Sen, Delhi-based artist Harpreet Singh, The Soil (a South African a capella group), Sound of Asia, and Kabir expert Shabnam Virmani, among others.
While Day One concluded with a Sufiana act by Daler Mehndi, Day Two saw an electrifying performance by Wadali Brothers.
Music was not the only activity that kept the visitors busy. The performances were punctuated with organic cooking classes by Chef Rajeev Payal from Navdanya, heritage walks through the streets, ghats and temples of Pushkar led by Pt Ravi Sharma, musical healing sessions with The Soil and traditional evening aarti.
The year 2016 ended on a high note for singer Daler Mehndi. He had some of the biggest Bollywood hits such as Dangal and Mirzya. The year also established him as the king of Sufi music, reminding us of his coronation as the king of pop several years ago.
At the Sacred Pushkar, his singing prowess was proved yet again. He was in a different avatar here, singing only soulful Sufi songs, sitting calmly with his harmonium.
He opened his act with Namoh Namoh, which included the Sikh Japji Sahib and lyrics from Guru Gobind Singh’s Dasam Granth. His strong throw of the voice and signature high notes had women in ghoonghats (veil) dancing like no one’s watching.
His song list included Rajan Ke Raja, Deewani, Damadam Mast Kalandar, Noor-e-Illahi, Bismillah, Allah Hu, and Ram Naa. His recital of the Rajasthani ballad, Kesariya Balam had his unique fingerprint. Though reluctantly, he had to give in to the crowd’s requests for his popular bhangra number Tunak Tunak.
The first time The Soil performed in India, they sent the audience into a trance. The group members—Buhlebendalo Mda, Ntsika Ngxanga, and Luphindo Ngxanga—can be called classic a capella singers with the charm of rockstars. They define their music as Kasi Soul with a mix of jazz, hip-hop, Afro-pop and Afro-soul. Excerpts:
How did The Soil came into being?
We formed a band in 2004 and became comrades of music. The audience response was encouraging, but success did not come easy. In 2011, we took our music to the people and sold 6,000 copies of our first CD. By 2012, we had gone gold.
What roles do you play in the group?
We’re gifted in our own ways. Luphindo does the bass and beatbox. Buhlebendalo and I are the vocalists. Both of them have these abrupt moments when they come up with melodies. I (Ntsika) dream about songs. We think of themes and write verses that sit well with the melody.
India has a guru-shishya parampara.
Our training was organic as we grew up in musical families, listening to our elders singing a capella.
What does 2017 hold for you?
We’re promoting our third album, Echoes of Kofifi, and mentoring upcoming artists. We’ve acquainted ourselves with Teamwork Arts and would love to collaborate with Indian artists. Along with other countries, we’d perform more on the home turf.