Beats of Rajasthan

Folk tunes

The arid wilderness of the desert has always fascinated us with its mystique. Desert music itself is no less enchanting.

Songs of battles won and lost, of love lost and found, of births and deaths. The desert state of Rajasthan is home to a rich tradition of music that has simple and rustic origins. The musicians themselves have humble beginnings and are keepers of a long legacy.

Chugge Khan is one such musician who has grown up listening to the verdant tunes of this arid land and has performed them across the world. Belonging to the Manganiar community, who are descendants of the Rajputs and are renowned as highly skilled folk musicians of the Thar desert, Khan had an early start to music.

“I come from a family of musicians. We have been involved in music, right from my great grandfather’s time. My father Hamir Khan started teaching me morchang (jaw harp) when I was four.”

Birth of music

The songs sung by the Manganiars, who hail from places like Barmer and Jaisalmer, are passed on from generation to generation as a form of oral history of the desert. “Music was an intrinsic part of life in desert when there was no other form of entertainment. Every occasion had a song. When a king would go to battle, the musicians would sing the aswari, when a child is born, we would sing halaria. Our entire existence revolves around melodies,” he explains.

Recalling some fond memories of learning from his father, Khan says, “He would wake me up at 5.30 every morning, and if I refused to get up, he would pour cold water on my head. That is how we were taught dedication towards music, and that was our only education.”

Khan’s tryst with the stage began at the age of 13. “I performed my first concert in Brittany, France, where I played the morchang. Not once did I feel out of place. I instantly felt at home, like I belonged there,” he reminisces. And since then, there was no looking back for this versatile artiste who has performed in over 120 countries.

In 2009, Khan formed the troupe Rajasthan Josh, bringing together many musicians from the Manganiar clan. The band performs with a variety of percussion instruments. Music of the Manganiar community fuses elements of Hindustani classical with Sufi music from the Pakistani province of Sindh.

“Since we hail from villages situated close to our country’s border with Pakistan, our songs are mainly sung and composed in Urdu and Sindhi, and always have a Sufi feel to them,” he elaborates. Over the years, the Manganiars have managed to create a unique set of ragas — gond malhar, suhaab, morath, khamachi, dhaani and maaru — for their full-throated singing.

When asked if language was ever a problem while performing for an international audience, Khan replies with confidence, “Music has no language, and it was never an impediment for me. In fact, in all my shows abroad, I have performed at least one song in the local language. I have sung songs in Japanese, Hebrew, French and so on.”

Climb to the top

From his small town beginnings, Khan has now gained international acclaim, having performed and collaborated with artistes like Sivamani, Radiohead, Indian Ocean and so on. Khan moderates each song, also plays morchang and bhapang (a string monochord instrument); he also often provides vocal lines. Khan is adept in playing 14 instruments. But morchang is one instrument that is close to his heart. “Morchang was mostly played by shepherds while grazing their cattle.

No musician was actually keen on taking it up. I was quite fascinated by it. During a performance in South India, I saw Carnatic musicians use a similar instrument called morsing. That is when I started experimenting and even started performing morchang jugalbandi with other musicians,” he says with enthusiasm.

Khan is an interactive performer. His compositions which are electrifying and at times sedate keep the audiences hooked. Clicking sounds of khartaal (wooden hand claps), beats of dholak and the rhythms of morchang create positive energy and leave the audience enchanted. Speaking about the effects of his performances, Khan says, “I learn from my audience. I try to capture what the listener desires because my ultimate goal is to entertain. Response from the audience gives me energy to perform.”

The down-to-earth musician is all set to pass on his rich artistic legacy to his five-year-old son Raheem Khan, who is already undergoing musical training and gearing up for his future performances. Khan has also formed a new group for young singers called Jaisalmer Boys, who recently performed at the Jaipur Literature Festival.Let’s just hope Khan’s magical compositions continue to enthrall us in the future too.