What’s Udaipur World Music Festival Got That NH7 & Sunburn Don’t?

With singers like The Raghu Dixit Project, Papon and a variety of international acts, this music fest looks promising

Sitting on the banks of the Fateh Sagar Paal and watching the sun go down is easily one of the most beautiful experiences you can have in Udaipur.

Imagine then, if you will, listening to the bittersweet strains of the Flamenco guitar, perched on those very banks, feasting on a gorgeous sunset.

The upcoming weekend offers this – and much more – at the first edition of the Udaipur World Music Festival. Conceptualised by Seher, which has given cultural aficionados fests such as Ananya, Bhakti Utsav and the South Asian Bands Festival, this new musical offering promises to cut across genres.

To be held between February 13 and 14, the fest will bring 100 global artists and ensembles from over 12 countries – such as Spain, Ghana, Venezuela, Italy and France to perform at two venues: the Fateh Sagar Paal and the Railway Training Institute Ground.

Cleverly enough, each of the two venues have been chosen to showcase a different style of music, suitable to the mood of the day.

For instance, the soft, romantic tunes of the Fado are reserved for laidback sunny afternoons at the Fateh Sagar Paal while the pulsating African beat music by Grammy award winner Dobet Gnahoré will resound at the Railway Training Institute Ground in the evenings.

Why Udaipur was Picked Over Other Cities to Host the Fest

At a time when the music festival scene is chock-a-block with names like the NH7 Weekender, Sunburn and many more, one wonders what the Udaipur World Music Festival is doing differently to stand out?

The fest space is really crowded. But as the pioneer in outdoor festivals, I feel that we have everything except a world music fest – which is what we’re doing. No one has thought of music from the southern and northern parts of Africa. We really need to showcase that.

Sanjeev Bhargava, festival director

Having worked at the World Festival of Black Arts in Senegal and the Fes Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco, Bhargava has had exposure to leading artists in this genre and, hence, realised the need to bring them to India.

With Rajasthan emerging as the cultural hub in the country, it seemed but natural to host the fest here. However, Bhargava didn’t want to opt for the tried and tested venue of Jaipur as, “there is too much happening there anyway,” he says.

The city (Udaipur) has a great hunger for tourism, something Delhi sadly lacks. It seems to be pushing all its cultural events to Gurgaon and Noida. Also, Udaipur also has an infrastructure that is dying to go global.

Sanjeev Bhargava, festival director

Of Finding Fanny Fame

The performance by Dobet Gnahoré and the collaboration between French composer Mathias Duplessy and Rajasthani vocalist Mukhtiyar Ali is being awaited by one and all. The latter duo have collaborated before for the soundtrack of Finding Fanny, in which Duplessy had composed the music and Ali had sung the intriguing theme song Fanny Re.

A multi-instrumentalist, (he plays more than 40 instruments), Duplessy is known for his theatre and cinema soundtracks, while Ali, a folk singer belonging to the semi-nomadic community of Mirasis, became famous through the Kabir Project and has performed in Belgium, Sweden, China, Canada, Germany and France ever since.

A Musical Bond is Building Between Portugal and India

Another gig that music enthusiasts are really looking forward to is the Fado performance by Portuguese artist Carminho.

“Despite the close connect between Portugal and India, it’s amazing that we’ve never ever had a Fado performance in the country,” says Bhargava. Inscribed as part of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists, Fado can trace its roots back to 1820s. Its soulful tunes, often tinged with melancholia, speak of the sea and the daily narrative of that time.

“I have never heard a Fado and was looking it up on YouTube. It was so beautiful,” says 25-year-old Kanika Sharma, a Delhi-based independent design consultant.

Carminho’s performance is one of the major things drawing her to the festival.

“I have been to several music fests such as the NH7 and Sunburn. But the music line-up at this fest is so different – here are artists that I have never heard before,” she says.

The Raghu Dixit Project, Papon and Other Acts

A world music fest would be incomplete without a Flamenco and Seher has invited one of the best groups Tamara and Fernando, Paso a Dos from Spain – to kickstart the evening performance on the first day.

The Raghu Dixit Project will be presenting their version of fusion rock that evening too.

The second day is all about nomadic strains from the Sahara as Oum will present the Soul of Morocco. There will also be performances by Sonam Kalra & The Sufi Gospel Project, Papon & the East India Company, Family Atlantica from Venezuela and Ghana, among others.

(Avantika Bhuyan is a freelance journalist who loves to uncover the invisible India hiding in nooks and crannies across the country.)