Magical fusion of music, spirituality at fest in Pushkar

Rajasthan will host a three-day music festival which aims at bringing music and spirituality on one platform at Pushkar from 14 November.

The festival ‘The Sacred’, which is the brain child of chief minister Vasundhara Raje, will feature artists from genres as diverse as sufi, Rajasthani folk, world music, Hindustani classical among others and would showcase how art and culture can transcend boundaries of religion and language.

“The idea was basically to try and bring together everything that touched upon the sacred and also show that spirituality crosses all religious boundaries. We wanted to look at both Pushkar and Ajmer at the same time, where two completely different religions are co-existing,” Sanjoy Roy, managing director, Teamworks Arts, the festival organiser, said.

“The suggestion came from Raje. Apart from the camel fair, there was nothing specific happening there. When I went and saw the Pushkar kund, I realised it is such a stunning backdrop,” he said.

“We wanted to create a space for people to come to listen morning and evening music and re-discover the pleasure of spirituality as your own space,” he added.

The festival line-up features artists like Kailash Kher, Shubha Mudgal, Nathulal Solanki with 52 Nagaras, Pandit Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Yom & Wang Li, La Grande Chapelle, Jaisalmer Boys among others. The festival will also showcase Buddhist meditation by Khen Rinpoche Jangchup Choeden, guided Jain meditation by Tikam Chand Jain, Vayu Yoga by Capucine Redon and Pushkar Heritage tours.

“In today’s day and time, when we are seeing so much intolerance, it’s imperative that all of us in the cultural space come together to showcase music that crosses all boundaries of religion, language, of different kinds of differences that have cropped up,” he said.

The three days of the festival, which will take place at different venues, including the Raj Bohra Ghat, sand dunes and Ajmer Fort, will add up to the prevailing spiritual ambience of Pushkar.