When I first signed up to watch this, I was expecting a night of feel good Rajasthani folk music with maybe some dancing thrown in.
Nothing prepared me for the moving, seductive, emotional roller coaster that is the performance by 43 Manganiyar musicians into a realm of music that has the ability to build your psyche to a fever pitch.
Starting with a long string instrument, the performance starts with a simple layer of soul-strumming notes that build, layer, upon layer, instrument upon instrument, voice upon voice, to a complete symphony that hypnotised, scincillated and completely consumed my senses.
When describing it to my friends, I compared it to a hurricane, that starts of with a low pressure zone, and then picks up strength, and builds, spirally every upward, pulling everything in its vicinity into its all consuming vortex.
It was the best visual parallel I could think of at the moment, and it hardly does it any justice.
I did not understand the language, did not know what they were singing about, but I do know that for 4 or 5 days afterwards, the refrain kept ringing in my head. If they come back, I already know of a few people I will drag along to watch it with me.
Side note: President Nathan was there!He had apparently come the night before, for the gala, and loved it so much, he came back the next night. It was thrilling to know that I have the same taste in music as our President! Ha ha.
