The Jodhpur RIFF 2022 hit a different chord with a 15 per cent increase in the number of visitors (the numbers touching 8,000) to the music festival since its last edition that was held pre-covid in 2019.
The festival that was held at the Majestic Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, from October 6 to 10, started in 2007 with the intent to nurture the talent of Rajasthani folk artistes. In its 15th year and 13th edition now, the festival attracts a wide audience for the rich folk scene of Rajasthan.
“Jodhpur RIFF returned after a forced hiatus of two years and the response has been overwhelming,” shared Divya Bhatia, festival director and producer, Jodhpur RIFF. “Almost 300 artists performed and performance venues were packed to capacity. Audiences lined up for hours for last minute tickets and kept pace with every performance – listening enraptured in pin drop silence to meditative solos, taking in the breathtaking venue in the moonlight and dancing until the wee hours when the rhythms picked up,” he added.
A not-for-profit festival, Jodhpur RIFF supports the root music traditions. The Jodhpur RIFF takes place under the aegis of the Mehrangarh Museum Trust.
Notable this year was the attendance of music enthusiasts from as many as 12 countries, considering this is the first to be held post the reopening of the world after the pandemic. The festival featured nearly 300 artists spread across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Wales, Mauritius, Brazil, Mexico, Iran, and Ireland, it is learnt.
Under the joint aegis of the Indian Railways and Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation, modern furnishings and additional amenities have been included in the train which includes gym, spa and more. The first Palace on Wheels was flagged off in 1982.The seven-day journey will start officially from October 12 from Delhi.
“This year at Jodhpur RIFF, we had great acts from India as also from Ireland, Wales, Brazil, Mauritius, and many other countries, interacting and collaborating with some of the most talented Rajasthani musicians; these artistes, through their music offer us a window into their cultures and histories, but we also get to witness conversations among different cultures through exciting collaborations like the ones we have this year,” said Bhatia.Held every year around this time, the festival is timed to coincide with Sharad Purnima, the brightest full moon of the year in North India and features a series of spectacular concerts and events based in and around Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpur. It has Maharaja Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur as its Chief Patron and Mick Jagger as its International Patron.
Another notable development was the announcement of Jodhpur RIFF’s roots music star, sarangi player, singer, composer and Langa community activist Asin Khan Langa as a laureate of the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards. The Aga Khan Music Awards are the international music awards recognising laureates for engaging with contemporary social and environmental issues while sustaining and developing musical traditions.
Dilshad Khan, who also performed at Jodhpur RIFF this year, has received a special mention.
Award winners and recipients of a Special Mention will share a prize fund of $500,000 as well as opportunities for professional development. These opportunities include commissions for the creation of new works, contracts for recordings and artist management, support for pilot education initiatives, and technical or curatorial consultancies for music archiving, preservation and dissemination projects.
“It is moments like these that make all the hard work we do worthwhile. Asin has grown with Jodhpur RIFF and Jodhpur RIFF has grown with him. We are proud of what he has achieved with this award as well as of how he has contributed to Jodhpur RIFF. It is such a symbiosis, between artist and festival, that validates both in the long run,” shared Bhatia.
