Jodhpur RIFF: Cultural Events & Sufi Festival in Rajasthan

Jodhpur Riff is an international Folk Festival in Rajasthan. The word RIFF means Rajasthan International Folk Festival and this event will be taken place in the Mehrangarh Fort every year at the time of Sharad Purnima. Sharad Purnima means the brightest full moon of the year in North India. This Purnima is celebrated with a large number of musicians and artists.

This event will occur on different dates but mostly in the month of October. Nearly 250 musicians will come from all over the world to execute their talent.

The Jodhpur Riff was created by the Maharaja HH Gaj Singh II and also endorsed by UNESCO as the “People’s platform for creativity and Sustainable Development”.

Jodhpur Riff is a great platform created to encourage the forgotten arts and culture.

Jodhpur Riff is the feast of folk festival and many other musical performances. The events that entertain here are the Jazz night, gypsy and traditional dance performances, Rajasthani nights, etc. The day starts with very soothing morning ragas at the event. Jodhpur Riff was famous for many cultural events, now we have to know about them.

Jodhpur Riff Event Attractions

Jodhpur Riff

To the Jodhpur Riff, many artists will be welcomed from local and all over the world. This event will be taken place for four days. Each day will be unique with different attractions. Jodhpur Riff is a great platform to perform different cultural activities with foreign artists. Local and the foreign artists will mix up and they beautifully deliver the event. This event was collaborated by the Mehrangarh Museum Trust and Jaipur Virasat Foundation.

Opening ceremony with Kalbelia

Kalbelia is a tribal community. They will perform dance performance at the opening ceremony along with some other local and international artists. The dance performance at the event will be the most attractive one. Because the dance performance of tribes is completely different and interesting.

Rajasthani Artists

rajasthani artist at Jodhpur Riff

A large number of artists will come from all over the world. But the performance of locals of Rajasthan is the most attractive and famous. The famous cultural event is the series of Living Legends by the Manganiyar hereditary music community. The members of the community are Lakha Khan Manganiyar, Pempa Khan Manganiyar(a Shehnai and Murli player), Kadar Khan Langa(Sindhi Sarangi and the vocalist), and Sawan Khan Manganiyar(Surfi).

Some other artists who take part in this event are Chiranji Lalji, Vocalist Anwar Khan Manganiyar, and the musicians Kamaycha Ghewar and Darra Khan Manganiyar. These members are the famous participants in this event. The Manganiyar music community is famous for their gripping talent.

Some other upcoming young groups and masters in Jodhpur Riff are the Dhun Dhora group and the masters like Butta Manganiyar and Asin Langa. So when you visit Jodhpur Riff never miss the performance of the Rajasthani artists.

Hungary Band (Sondorgo)

Hungary Band

Sondorgo is a famous Hungary Band who are specialist in playing the unknown music of Serb-Croatian communities. Along with the band, gypsy and Balkan tracks entertain us. Nearly, they play in 17 type of instruments and styles of music.

Musicians and Vocalists

Jodhpur RIFF

Jodhpur Riff event is home to famous musicians and vocalists. All type of musicians like Hindustani, Surfi, Carnatic etc will come from all over the country and world. The famous Hindustani classical musician Smita Bellur will give her performance in this event. The famous vocalists who perform here are Sawan Khan Manganiyar, and the Hindustani vocalist Jayateerth Mevundi will entertain us.

Maru Tarang

Maru Tarang at Jodhpur Riff

Maru Tarang is a mixture of Australian and Rajasthani music. The participants are from Australia and Rajasthan locals. The participants of Maru Tarang was the Asin Langa And Bhungar Manganiyar from Rajasthan and Jeff Lang and Bobby Singh from Australia. Maru Tarang is a famous music event in this festival by the locals and foreigners.

The famous vocalist Jayateert Mevundi

famous vocalist Jayateert Mevundi

As we know before, Jayateert Mevundi a famous Hindustani vocalist is famous here. He is the finest vocalist in the festival who is the master in Santvaani and Daasavani. He is a great deliver of musical traditions of Karnataka and Maharashtra. He is very popular in this festival for his excellent performance.

Davy Sicard

Davy Sicard music is another attraction of the festival and his music also completely different and unique. His music is a perfect blend of African slave chants and rhythms. The instruments he uses are traditional and contemporary to European instruments. His music works are mostly based on the themes of slavery and reunion. He is very famous for his works and also popularly known as the modern “Maloya”.

Playing Kamaycha

Kamaycha is a very rare instrument in the present world. The Kamaycha is a string instrument which is made of mango wood and covered with goatskin. This instrument will be played with a bow. Playing of Kamaycha by Ghewar Khan Manganiyar is soulful to watch.

Children folk morning

Children folk morning is organized at Veer Durgadas Memorial Park of the city for children groups. During this event, many traditional dance performances will be performed like Terah Taali, Gair etc. The very interesting act in this event is the Kachi Ghodi and Chhatar Kotla in this act males dance to the beats of the drum.

Kawa circus

Kawa circus

Kawa circus is also organized by the Rajasthani circus artists. They perform very risky and dangerous acts. This is also a small attraction of the festival.

Overall, these are the cultural events and attractions of Jodhpur Riff festival. So many famous and popular artists are invited to take part in the festival. Jodhpur Riff festival in Mehrangarh Fort is an eye-catch feast to watch. So never miss attending this festival when you visit Jodhpur in October.

Accommodation

After arriving at Fort, 20 luxury tents are arranged for accommodation. These tents will be settled during the festival by the hotel group of Maharaja. Each tent is very spacious and arranged with all needs. The tents are equipped with an en-suite bathroom, air-conditioning, and a comfortable bed. So there will be no problem for accommodation.

Jodhpur Riff is a beautiful and must experience-able fest in Jodhpur. It is a fest of arts and cultural activities by a huge number of artists on a single platform.

In one word Jodhpur Riff is a fusion of Indian and international music. So have a visit to Jodhpur Riff festival for a memorable day in your life.

For the better experience choose Deccan Odyssey for a luxurious trip to Jodhpur. From there you can visit the Mehrangarh Fort for the festival.  Indian Sojourn is the itinerary of Deccan Odyssey with offers a tour to Jodhpur.

Few more famous itineraries of Deccan Odyssey

The approximated dates for the fest of Jodhpur Riff is in between 24th to 28th October.   

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