Music transcends boundaries, be it physical, geographical or man made. This was aptly showcased by the Rajasthan-based troupe Dharohar at a concert in Visakhapatnam organised recently by the Andhra Music Academy as part of its annual music festival.
The turbaned singers and musicians from a nondescript village called Kotra in Barmer district of Rajasthan enthralled the audience for a little over two hours with their folk and sufiana rendition. The no-nonsense crowd swayed and tapped their feet to the tune and beat of the dholak and the khartaal.
The performance moved the Carnatic exponent Nedunuri Krishnamurthy. He surprised the audience by getting on to the stage in the middle of the concert to heap praises on the troupe. “Music goes beyond language and barriers and here is a perfect example,” he said. He went on to add, “India is a mystic country and we are yet to fully unravel its beauty and mysteries. Can one imagine that we have such great musicians and singing talents in a remote village in Rajasthan. They are innocent and natural musicians, who pick up the finer points from the nature. The purity in their music is amazing and is way ahead of any city-based singer or musician.”
The musicians come from the Manganiar sect and have been traditional musicians since ages. “The documented history tells that we have been musicians since seven generation and was court musicians of the Rajput kings. We still perform at Rajput households,” says Bhunger Khan, the lead composer of Dharohar.
Bhunger, who plays the khartaal, captivated the audience with the rhythm and beat of his instrument. He was accompanied by vocalists Jete Khan and Loona Khan and Manzoor Khan on the dholak and supported by Mithu and Ram Pyari, who danced to his tune.
What surprised many in the audience was that the songs were based on Bhairavi, Kalyan, Desh and other Hindustani classical ragas.
Impressed by the performance, spiritual guru and founding mentor of Andhra Music Academy Sivananda Murty says, “Tribes of Rajasthan have an identity of their own. Irrespective of the religious identities traceable to history, the Rajasthan tribes have retained their own style of music and dance along with their colourful dress. Their music is based on ancient Indian form of music consisting of pure ragas and talas. The singers are mostly males with stentorian voices. Their performance was a great rediscovery of the ancient Indian music.”
The troupe also belted out the original versions of ‘Nimuda nimuda' the number that was embedded by Sanjay Leela Bhansali in his blockbuster ‘Hum dil de chuke sanam' and the famous Sufi number ‘Duma dum mast Qalandar'.
On the genre, Bhunger says, “Our songs are mostly based on the way of life and culture. We have songs for every occasion, be it a wedding ceremony or birthday celebration, and from Tulsidas's kirtans to Sufi songs. We have created songs glorifying kings, camels, nature and horses.”
Bhunger claims that the lyrics are age-old and have percolated down from generations through oral communication, and that till date there is no written text. “The innovations take place spontaneously during the performances.”
