You’ve heard his voice on songs such as ‘Baawre’ in Luck By Chance (2009); ‘Aitbaar’ from Nobody Killed Jessica (2011) and ‘Chakora’ from Mirzya (2016). And you’ve probably seen him on the widely popular second season of Coke Studio @ MTV, singing ‘Chaudhary’, conducted and arranged by Amit Trivedi.
In his colourful Rajasthani turban, trimmed moustache and warm smile, Mame Khan displays a unique demeanour. His voice is special too. It reverberates the folk music of western Rajasthan; places like Jaisalmer and Barmer. “I am happy Rajasthani folk singing styles are reaching newer areas,” says Khan. “For us, music is like mathematics. It’s the calculations we keep in our mind when performing.”
This evening, Khan will collaborate with another great singer from the eastern India; Kolkata-based Kaushiki Chakrabarty, the daughter of Patiala gharana maestro Ajoy Chakrabarty. Will east meet west, as per Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem? “It will be a unique concert,” says Khan, adding, “Our styles are different. She will sing folk and Hindustani light classical music to begin with. I will do a few Rajasthani folk and Sufi songs. Then we will sing together on a jugalbandi .”
Rhythm and lyrics
Khan — whose father Ustad Rana Khan was a respected singer — comes from a rich musical background, that goes back 15 generations. Brought up in Satto, a village near Jaisalmer, Khan was exposed to folk music of the Manganiyar community since childhood. Their style called Jangra, utilises rare instruments such as the bowed kamaicha and the percussion piece khartal, where the player has a unique theatrical-dance posture while performing.
As a child, Khan won prizes in school for his talent, performing the National Anthem, ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon’ in school. But his his mind was more focused on rhythm.
He preferred playing the dholak. A world tour in 1999 took the singer to the Belgian capital of Brussels for a while in 1999. Unable to return, Khan took up to singing on the advice of his father. “That was a turning point, and it opened up new possibilities,” says the singer. “I started researching the richness of Rajasthani folk music and Manganiyar music in particular.”
This led to an exploration of two styles: folk music ( lok geet , as he insists) and Sufi songs written by poets like Baba Bulleh Shah and Hazrat Shah Hussain. Khan elaborates, “On the folk level, ‘Kesariya Balam’ is one of the most popular songs from our region. Mehdi Hassan gave it a unique charm, and many others sang it. Our style is different. Likewise, we sing the famous ‘ Nimbooda’ our own way.”
When it came to Khan’s interest in Sufi music, the singer says many vocalists perform in a Qawwali style, where clapping plays an important role. “We render them our own way, using our folk instruments,” says Khan. “There are probably only ten or 12 performers of the kamaicha today. It's very close to the violin in technique and the audience appreciates it.”
Currently, Khan is working on ‘Jogiya’ written by Mumbai-based lyricist Neha and there are other projects in the pipeline. But the singer would rather stay tight-lipped about that for now.
Mame Khan and Kaushiki Chakraborty’s performance will take place this evening at Tata Theatre, NCPA at 6.30 p.m. For more details, see bookmyshow.com
