Some posts do not need a title.

Music is powerful. Music unites us; maybe all countries should just have a MINISTRY of MUSIC. Yeah, this is my theory, pass a law saying that every citizen must know how to sing or play a musical instrument. Those who do not shall be prosecuted. I for one believe there is music inside everyone. So moving on, people who can appreciate (for the lack of a better word) are happy people, and happy people fight no wars, and that, ladies and gents, is how you achieve, WORLD PEACE.


All this thought process came into force after my amazing one day at the Rajasthan International Folk Festival. Another music festival which reinforced my long standing belief, which has been proven again and again, “The purest music comes from the most untouched lands.”

How many of us have heard of Reunion Islands? Yet on Friday night a crowd consisting of people from the US, the UK, Europe, Africa and Asia ( I am pretty sure there were a couple of Aussies around) sang along, whistled to (well, we tried) danced to the beats of a man from this very island, off the coast of Madagascar. Davy Sicard and his band rocked the crowd! What soulful music, what amazing stage presence; he managed to convey the pain and anguish of colonialism in the music of the sea.

In most places, most art forms are passed on from generation to generation. It’s not everyday that you see three generations of a family on stage performing. Shakar Khan Manganiyar was on stage performing with his sons and grandsons, all playing this instrument to me looked like a combination of the Veena, the Banjo and the Violin, called the Kamaycha. His profound exploration of ragas in his alaap just reflected his expertise and also his years of experience, and his deep knowledge.

Music transcends languages; it makes you one with complete strangers. How else can you explain two brothers from Egypt (Joseph Tawadros on Oud and his brother James on Egyptian percussion), and two Kazak (Slava Grigoryan and his brother Leonard) brothers coming together in Australia as a band with a classical guitar, an electric guitar, and two very Egyptian instruments. Their compositions were supremely creative, and very catchy. Also impressive in this segment was Joseph Tawadros’s slapstick comedy, we realised he is just as much of a joker offstage when we met him later in the Mehrangarh lift.

Their jugalbandi with the Kamaycha playing Manganiyars of Rajasthan showed how beautiful and captivating Fusion music can be, if both the forms of music are blended effectively, yet ensuring that their original character remains true. (No, Dave, not like the time when we butchered Mahaganapathim, and the only person who liked it was Lin. Had my Grandma heard it, she would have chased us through the streets of Hyderabad with a Veena in her hand. True). Whether it was Davy Sicard inviting the Manganiyars onto the stage to perform with him, or Jason Singh’s beatboxing with Raies Khan’s Morchang, late in the night, fusion is all about both the artists understanding and respecting each other and their music.

The night ended with us dancing to Rajasthani Folk Group Dharohar’s performance featuring Jason Singh, listening to Jumma ‘Jogi’s poetry and vocals, and then again dancing away till the early morning to DJ Maga Bo who played beats from all parts of the world.

The next morning, having spent the night dancing at the fort, saw us at sunrise in Jaswant Thada, a little way away from the main fort, where we listened in rapt attention and wonder to Pt. Hariharsharan Bhatt on sitar (from Jaipur, Rajasthan) and Pt. Brijbhushan Bhatt on violin (from Alwar, Rajasthan). When Pt.Hariharan closed the morning’s show with my favorite Bhajan, Vaishnavo Janato, I did not feel leaving. It was a night well spent.

Music will not fill that void in your heart, that is something you have to do for yourself. Music only gives you the strength to try to fill it. It will always be there for you, it is beautiful and sacred. It will help you to try and help yourself to pull yourself out of any shit life has a habit of throwing at you. It will help you appreciate the value of the things or people that you have, and not those that you lost. Most of all, it helps you move on.

I guess I’ll close this post with the following:

“Some people believe in God, I believe in Music,

Some people pray, I turn up the Radio.”



(In the memory of the fine man who taught me how to enjoy all the good things in life, and made me what I am today. And also was one hell of a friend, mentor, and father. R.I.P. Daddy. You have no idea how much I love and miss you. Thank you, for everything.)