Desert tunes from the land of Rajasthan

Anwar Khan Manganiar and Ghewar Khan hail from the desert lands of Rajasthan and are a part of the team of folk musicians, who perform with classical musicians like Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt and Pandit Ronu Majumdar

Anwar Khan comes from the traditional ‘Manganiar folk music community’ of the Baiya village in Jaisalmer district. He says that music is in his blood and it is in his family from centuries. “We sing songs for many occasions like weddings, births, spiritual occasions, festivals of harvest, Holi among others. Many of the songs are compositions of well-known Sufi saints like Bulleh Shah, Latif, Kabirdas, Surdas, Meerabai and Tulsidas,” he shares

Anwar says that for them music is divine and it is not about any religion. “We sing songs in praise of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama with much ease. I have shared stage with many classical musicians and have always received equal accolades from the audience. All over the world, people listen to our music and at times also break into an extempore dance of joy,” he says.

Anwar extols that there is a need to look into the aspect of creating a certain kind of ‘regular annual programme schedule’ for the musicians from his community so that they can look forward to a better living through earnings from a profession in music.

Ghewar Khan is the son of Padma Shri awardee Late Sakar Khan and he hails from the Hamira village in Jaisalmer. Ghewar plays the musical instrument called ‘Kamaicha’, which is supposed to bring sounds closest to ‘human voice’. For him, the legacy of music is a larger responsibility as his father is so far the only folk musician from their community to get honoured with one of the highest the civilian honour of India.

“I am always worried about the aspect of the making of this Kamaicha instrument. We do not have any makers and I am trying to get it done by guiding some carpenters. This becomes a part time job for them and therefore, the skill is not being properly documented or passed on to the younger generation.

It’s also not easy to procure good mango wood to make a Kamaicha. It is very important that the government and private corporate sectors come forward and create a support environment for protecting this musical instrument and the rich heritage.

My father has performed with world musicians such as violin legend Yehudi Menuhin and George Harrison of ‘The Beatles’. The responsibility is very high and I am already seeing to it that my children take up this form of music to carry on the legacy.