Folk Music

Under the Banyan Tree on A Full Moon Night: April edition of Delhi event celebrates folk music

Under the Banyan Tree on A Full Moon Night's April edition will feature performances by the Sufi singer Mooralala Marwada followed by the neo-folk fusion band, Neeraj Arya's Kabir Café.

Monsoon Music: In Punjab, singing songs of Sawan

In the first part of our #MonsoonMusic series, a look at the folk music of Punjab that is inspired by the rain

Simit Bhagat's In Search of Bidesia is a poignant narrative of longing, pain and separation

'In Search of Bidesia', a film by Simit Bhagat, is a poignant narrative of longing, pain and separation, that dates back to an era which has been resigned to history books and selective accounts by fourth generation migrants.

Monsoon Music: Maharashtra sings of farmers and fruitful harvests

Maharashtra's folk music is deeply inspired by the monsoon and agriculture, and the songs speak of sowing, harvest and the farmers' plight and prayers

Monsoon Music: In Assam, prayers for the arrival of rain — and its departure

The genres of folk music created by tribes in Assam address the monsoon in varied ways, depending on their relationship with this destructive and nourishing season

Monsoon Music: Uttar Pradesh and Bihar's Kajri — an ode to dark clouds

The most popular forms of the Kajri can be found in the Bhojpuri language, but it is also sung in Awadhi and Maithili. The prominent motifs in this genre are Radha-Krishna, looming clouds and peacocks

Swarathma frontman Vasu Dixit on the power of folk music, wanting to collaborate with Lamb of God

Vasu Dixit talks about his upcoming projects and his earliest musical memory

Monsoon music: From Manipur, mystical songs for the rain

The Meitei people of Manipur have songs for every aspect of the rains. There are songs for when the rain does fall, and songs for when it doesn’t. Songs to appease the rain gods, and songs that embrace all manner of flora and fauna.

In Bundelkhand, the onset of the rains is marked by nostalgia for sawan celebrations of the past

After a long summer marked by the dry, scorching heat and a relentless sun, the onset of the rains is a harbinger of good things to come, especially for the parched Bundeli landscape and its people

Monsoon music: In Rajasthan, the Manganiars dedicate ragas to the rain

The earth has a deeply symbiotic relationship with the rain, but few places anticipate the monsoon with as much anxiety, or welcome it with as much joy, as the desert