The majestic ramparts of the Mehrangarh Fort will once again resound with strains of the karthal and the Flamenco guitar. Rajasthan's Blue City is all agog as it awaits the second edition of the Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival. It was started last year with the objective of creating a link between the folk musicians of Rajasthan and the Flamenco and gypsy artists living across the world. This year's festival, with 17 artists from Spain, Italy and Turkey such as Chano Dominguez, Karen Lugo, Javier Collins and Agustín Carbonell "Bola" matching beats with 19 Indian musicians from the Langa community and kalbelia dancers, will not only showcase the evolution of gypsy traditions but also present them in a contemporary incarnation through progressive pieces written especially for the festival.
"Jodhpur is all set to become the capital for gypsy art and culture in India," says Roberto Nieddu, managing and artistic director of the festival. The seed of the Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival was sown at the the other mega music festival that takes place every year in the city - the Rajasthan International Folk Festival, or RIFF. Each year, the joint performance of the kalbelia dancers with Flamenco artists is one of the most awaited events, with cheers erupting at every serpentine swirl of the kalbelia lehnga and the rhythmic pitos, or finger snapping, of the Flamenco artist. The remarkable similarities in musical nodes, rhythms and instruments between the two art forms led CRN Productions - an organisation that invites artists from across the world to participate in an exchange of ideas, and which Nieddu heads - to research the links between Spanish and Indian gypsies.
It was five years ago that I learnt more about this connection at RIFF through Francesca Cassio, an ethnomusicologist who sang dhrupad as effortlessly as the Italian blues and was then a part of CRN Productions. According to her, various theories over the past few years have shown that gypsies had migrated in the 12th century from Rajasthan to West Asia and Europe, finally settling down in Spain. Genetic tests conducted over the years have proved this common origin. Moreover, while the Indian music system follows the taal, a similar rhythmic cycle of 12 beats called the buleria is employed in Flamenco. "A lot of percussion instruments are similar," says Nieddu. "The rehearsals usually take place at my house and it's amazing to see the connection between gypsy artists from across the world. It doesn't seem like a foreign culture is being showcased, it feels like it is a part of this environment itself, that these artists are meant to be here."
The performing artists too have experienced this strong connection. "The first common thing that I have noticed is the same need to express our feelings through artistic means. The desire to perform and share with others the very basic human experiences such as birth, death, marriage, love and heartbreak is common to both Spanish Flamenco and Rajasthani folk music," says Dominguez, who combines Latin jazz, post-Bop and Flamenco influences in his piano recitals. However, gypsy culture from various countries has acquired its own colour and tone, inspired by the local communities. "We gypsies, being nomadic, have adapted to different music that we have discovered during our journeys across the world," says Bola. "Our strong musical roots permit us to easily create innovations in traditional music." Bola has been trying to create a common musical language with Rajasthani musicians since 2010.
Another performer, Lugo, a young dancer who, according to The Washington Post, has acquired a reputation as a risk-taker and innovator, has also been travelling to India for the past four years now and has used traditional classical movements in her performances. "I have learnt a lot from seeing Odissi and Kathak dancers," she says. "I have integrated some details of the language and essence of these dances to suit the possibilities permitted by my style." This year, Lugo will be joined by Rajasthani vocalists and instrumentalists to showcase the link between the two cultures. "The guitar carries the information of the Flamenco language, the violin brings in the colour and gives a rhythmic base when interacting with the sarangi and the drums," explains Lugo.
The Jodhpur Flamenco and Gypsy Festival will take place at Mehrangarh Fort between April 3 and April 5, 2015. For the complete schedule, visit jfgfestival.com/2015-lineup/
