With Mame Khan after the Manganiyar artiste's captivating performance in Dubai in May
The first time I heard music by Manganiyar performers was at a Jaipur Literature Festival after-party several years ago. After an absolutely delightful day spent listening to some interesting, intriguing and insightful talks by writers such as Ruskin Bond, Sashi Tharoor, and William Dalrymple, we, a group of media persons, headed off to the Writers Ball where, the invitation said, a concert was to happen at 10 pm.
And what a concert it was! The music by the Manganiyar performers from Rajasthan, who were also accompanied on stage by tabla players, and sarangi artistes, was overwhelming to say the least. Not often have I been so moved and left enraptured by a musical performance as I was by this one. It was an experience the memories of which even today leave me with goosebumps.
So, when Vinod, a good friend and the man behind Tambourine Live, gave me a call some weeks ago to flag me up on a Manganiyar concert that he was organising in Dubai, I was overjoyed. I didn’t want to miss it for anything. (For the record, the concert was held on May 19.)
This time I had the privilege of witnessing live a performance by Mame Khan.
Hailing from Satto, a small village in Rajasthan’s Jaisalmer district, Mame started off his career as a percussionist (he reportedly went on a world tour in 1999) but rested the drum sticks to pick up the microphone a few years later. Blessed with a voice that can hold audiences in thrall and leave them entranced, Mame belongs to a family that has music quite literally running through their veins: the last 15 generations of his family have been steeped in music. “It is said that even when a Manganiyar child cries, it cries in tune,’’ he said in an interview.
It was pure delight to see the first folk artist from India to walk the Cannes red carpet, walk on to the stage for the performance. Dressed in a kurta pajama and a colourful turban, Mame was accompanied by his band of traditional musicians who play instruments like the sarangi, wooden kartals, and morsing, as well as a keyboard player and a guitarist, all of them stars and extremely talented in their own right.
Mame Khan opened the concert with a number that was soulful, and packed with energy, echoing the joyous celebrations of life, and almost immediately his music transported me to that fabulous evening I spent in Jaipur.
In an interview later, he mentioned how he entered Bollywood - his first song was Baware with Shankar Mahadevan for the film Luck By Chance. But it was perhaps his Coke Studio performance of Chaudhary for Amit Trivedi that gave his musical career a big push. He went on to sing for a few more movies including a Hindi song in the Malayalam movie Monsoon Mangoes.
At a time when much music fades into obscurity within weeks, Padmasree award-winner Mame Khan appears to be defying fleeting trends.
As fervent requests for ‘one more song’ echoed through the venue as he approached the end of his concert, it became evident that his musical journey had struck a chord, stirring hearts and captivating minds, fostering a renewed appreciation for the rich tapestry of cultural heritage woven within each haunting note.
I'm eagerly waiting the announcement of the next Manganiyar concert.
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