folk artists get to perform , the income is very low which is another reason for the dwindling of folk artists as they are unable to survive on the meagre incomes coming from music but have to have side hustles to make ends meet .
Another major reason for the decrease in folk artists is that earlier there was a clear segregation between artists who were usually from the said lower castes and they were patronized by the Jajmans of the higher castes . With social equality , several families have left music which is still perceived as being entrenched in casteism .
There are several programmes coming up to preserve these dying arts like Khamayati , to support and facilitate Rajasthani folk musicians . They helps artists showcase their music to wider audiences across the world by documenting their performance , and used modern methods and social media for the process . Not all folk artists get famous like the Langas and Manganiars because only being good at the art is not important , marketing skills are equally important and that is where these programmes come in handy .
These days Tuning 2 You , a film series created by Soumik Datta Arts and Weavers Studio Centre for the Arts with support from the Bagri Foundation is going to the villages themselves and capturing the raw material on film , before younger generations lose interest and the traditions are lost . Another company , Amarrass Records is attempting to find new solutions and find a sustainable way forward to preserve , and promote music that matters .
Komal Kothari , a musicologist from Rajasthan is credited with bringing folk music in front of an international audience . He studied folk music , and music instruments along with the writer Vijaydan Detha . He founded the Rupayan Sansthan , which documents Rajasthani folk traditions . Detha also wrote the script for the 2005 Amol Palekar film Paheli , which starred Shahrukh Khan .
A five-day Rajasthan International Folk Festival ( RIFF ), Jodhpur RIFF is a not-for-profit roots music festival endorsed by UNESCO
as a “ Peoples ” Platform for Creativity and Sustainable Development ”. It takes place in October every year at the Mehrangarh Fort , to promote music from the desert villages that is dying a slow death due to lack of patronage and popularity . Mumbai-based Sufi and folk vocalist Rekha Bharadwaj , also collaborated with female folk musicians in Rajasthan-the Maand and Bhopi legends , Bhanwari Devi Bhopi and Rehana Mirza .
Times are changing , and artists are pledging to restore folk music to the glory it deserves .
The Score Magazine highonscore . com
23