Musical notes from Mehrangarh

Considered one of the most formidable and grand forts of Rajasthan Mehrangarh is also famous for playing host to some of the biggest music festivals held in the state Last year due to the pandemic the statersquos tourism suffered a major setback and most artists whose primary source of income was their live performances also found themselves out of work After waiting for the COVID19 situation to improve considerably and for restrictions on gatherings to be lifted Raaga Science a Jodhpurbased organisation that works for musicians decided to organise a festival that would help lift the spirits of the city and its artistesNawab KhanldquoItrsquos not only the artists in Rajasthan musicians all over India have faced a similar plight in the last year While folk musicians are still getting to perform at weddings and other small gatherings itrsquos the classical concerts that have been hit the most The audience for classical music has also been dwindling in Jodhpur This made us decide to focus completely on classical music for this festivalrdquo says Nawab Khan founder Raaga Science ldquoIt was a tough task since we had no sponsors A few friends helped us and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust gave us the prestigious venue The festival has been coorganised by Swar Sudha Jodhpur and supported by Theater amfaden Stuttgart and Ustad Allah Rakha Khan Institute Mumbai We decided against having a ticketed event to encourage participationrdquo he addsThe theme of the Raaga Festival is evolution of music and one can expect a wide range of music from sacred bhajans to Dhrupad Khayal and modernday improvisations Slated for March 11 to 13 the festival will see performances from 25 artists from all over India The event will also include music workshops lecture demonstrations and live music meditation sessions The morning concerts will be held at the serene Jaswant Thada a marble memorial built in memory of Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur while the evening concerts will be held at the fort The lineup includes performances by Ustad Fazal Qureshi ndash tabla Pt Vijay Ghate ndash tabla Purbayan Chatterjee sitar Rageshri Das vocals Gayatri Ashokan vocals Pandit Atulkumar Upadhye ndash violin Dilshad Khan ndash sarangi Rahul Deshpande ndash vocals Sridhar Parthasarathy ndash mridangam Naveen Sharma dholak Zakir Khan khartaal Vivek Sonar ndash flute Ayan Khan ndash sarangi and Naved Khan ndash santoor among othersKeeping the COVID19 situation in mind the festival will be held across six stages seating a total of 200 people ldquoThe fort is so large that it is easy for the audience to maintain distance and still enjoy the performances We are also organising COVID19 tests for the artistes as wellrdquo says Khan According to the COVID19 Data Repository by the Johns Hopkins University as of today the COVID19 numbers in Rajasthan are less than 10 per cent compared to that of MaharashtrarsquosLOG ON TO raagafestivalorgCOST FreeAround townHow to get there There are direct flights to Jodhpur from Mumbai and Delhi Jodhpur is a 17 hour drive from MumbaiWhere to stay Staying in the old city makes it easier to commute to the fort The Blue City old city Jodhpur has a variety of options for all kinds of budgets Most of these are old houses converted into hotels Krishna Prakash Haveli Pal Haveli and Raas Hotel come recommended Most of these properties are at a walking distance from the fort Auto rickshaws are also available here The lanes in the old city are too narrow for cabsFood Jodhpur is famous for its Kachori Samosas Mirchi Badas Jalebis and Gulab Jamuns A number of shops by the Clock Tower sell these Janta Sweets is particularly famous The old city has many rooftop restaurants which offer a great view of the fort Get some coffee at one of the many artsy cafes in the stepwell area to start your day on a brighter note