Greek, Egyptian, Arabic, Rajasthani music fuse at RIFF

A collaboration of Greek, Egyptian, Arabic and Rajasthani music heralded the second day of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival here.
Irish musician Ross Daly created magic with his Greek-originated 'Lyre' instrument on day two of the event, at the centuries old Mehrangarh Fort in the city, which plays host to the music festival till October 12.
After performing solo for a while, Daly later invited Ghevar Khan, a traditional Manganiar folk musician, to join him in the jugalbandi with his Rajasthani folk instrument 'Kamaycha'.
'Kamaycha' is a multi-stringed instrument similar to Sarod, whereas a 'lyre' is a harp looking instrument.

Khan and Daly's collaboration was later intertwined with the introduction of a new instrument called 'Oud', which has an Egyptian origin.
Enthralling the audience, the artists presented a 15-minute jugalbandi, with each instrument given a specific of two to three minutes of solo performance.

The Greek, Rajasthani and Arabic fusion was later joined by a tambourine type instrument called 'Rik' traditionally used in Arabic music.
James Tawados, who played 'Rik', performed a duet with Rajasthani Dhol player for about two minutes, which gained immense praise from the audience.
"The collaboration was spontaneous. I have great respect for Ghevar ji. The practice just took four hours and were ready to go on stage," Daly said.