The festival looks to bring attention to dying music forms in Rajasthan and wildlife conservation in India.
Rajasthan’s very own Ranthambore National Park, which hosts the largest number of tigers in India, will be hosting an all new non-profit cultural festival at Nahargarh Palace called the Ranthambore Festival from the 27th to the 29th of January!
The festival seeks to showcase some of the best in Rajasthani folk music by providing a platform for artists, conversationalists and more to discuss India’s history and its possible future in terms of music and wildlife. It is also the first festival that will talk about preservation and give people a look at the efforts of conservationists of music as well as nature with the help of Puqaar Foundation in association with First Stone and BookASmile.
Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje stated, “The Ranthambore Festival champions the causes of indigenous music and nature preservation. With time, I see the festival becoming an exciting platform and a key forum for nature and music lovers to engage with each other.”
The festival will open with the screening of ‘The Unforgotten Music of Rajasthan’, a documentary that chronicles the journey undertaken by the festival to remote corners of Rajasthan over 12 days.
Curating the music programming for the festival, which will be held under the moonlit sky, will be Ustad Ma Zila Khan. Joining her in the line-up will be Ustaad Hakim Khan, one of the last kamaicha players in the world; Mirasi singer Nagga Khan; world music and folk act Maati Baani; classical pianist Karl Lutchmayer; Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Cafe and Ustaad Gafoor Khan.
Mallika Sarabhai will be presenting a special collaborative performance with Ustad Ma Zila Khan, Rajeev Raja and Fabrizio Cassol. However, the special addition to the line-up that cannot be missed, will be performances by 35 handpicked Rajasthani folk musicians who were discovered after travelling to all corners of the state.
Also giving a performance will be Kailash Dan, a Dingal poet who is one of the few remaining people to speak the Dingal dialect. Another interesting feature at the festival will be the wildlife film festival – ‘Into the Wild’, curated by India’s leading environmental and wildlife forum – CMS Vatavaran.
The Puqaar Open Air Amphitheatre, built specifically for the festival, will host the ‘unEarth Summit’, where leading conservationists, social influencers and business leaders will come together for a series of interactive panel discussions on topics pertaining to India’s musical and environmental past, present and future.
Workshops will be held for activities like wildlife photography, music, yoga and meditation. Heritage walks, interactive discussions on conservation and hot-air balloon rides will have you begging for more time! The various food stalls will feature some of Rajasthan’s traditional and delicious food over the three days of the festival, along with the Pop-Up Souk, a market with some of India’s best designer crafts.
The best thing about the festival – the entry is absolutely free, but certain workshops and performances will have ticketed access. If you want full access to all the parts of the festival and performances, you could opt for different season passes for all three days of the festival, including accommodation!
Click here to RSVP for the free pass or buy your season tickets and enjoy the culture that Rajasthan has to offer.