Last year, I had a chance to listen to 'Chaar Yaar (the FAQIRI QUARTET)' lead by Madan Gopal Singh in Ruhaaniyat. There, he sung an amazing song connecting Rumi, Kabir and John Lennon. The composition was based on Lennon's famous 'Imagine' and it was called "Socho Zara" (literally 'think a little'). The music was fantastic - Deepak Castelino was on guitar, Pritam Ghosal played the sarod and Amzad Khan was on the tabla - a good fusion. But, beyond the music, the song connected intellectually. I couldn't find that version in Youtube; but a shorter version connecting Rumi with Lennon.
There, another remarkable experience was to listen to "Two Siberians" - an instrumental duo from Russia. One guy (Artyom Yakushenko) played electric violin and Yuriy Matveyev played electric guitar. It is hard for me to classify their music beyond world-fusion/jazz-fusion. So I leave it at that.
Then there was a performance by a Manganiar group led by Kachra Khan. And what a performance that was! Manganiyars are hereditary musicians and they are a kind of custodians of folk history. Though they are " ... Muslim musicians, many of their songs are in praise of Hindu deities and celebrate Hindu festivals such as Diwali and Holi. The Manganiar performs (sic) traditionally invoke the Hindu god Krishna and seek his blessings before beginning their recital. At one time, the Manganiars were musicians of the Rajput courts, accompanying their chiefs to war and providing them with entertainment before and after the battles and in the event of his death, would perform at the ruler's vigil day and night until the mourning was over." (http://manganiar.com/music.html) Wikipedia says that they "... sing songs about Alexander the Great, about the local Maharajas and past battles in the region."
They held the whole audience spellbound.
Needless to say, I'm now waiting for the next Ruhaaniyat.
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