lakha Khan is the seventh generation in a family of musicians who have been carrying forward the tradition of Rajasthani folk and sufi music whose legacy is said to date back almost 400 years. By Jigyasu Joshi
As lakha Khan Manganiyar stands on the stage to present his folk culture to the patrons of music, he first raises his hands to greet the Maharaja of Jodhpur and expresses his gratitude for being invited to perform at the ongoing Rajasthan International Folk Festival in Jodhpur. He mesmerises the audience with his three back-to-back performances and goes backstage in thunder of applauds. “I feel so honoured to perform for the audience who appreciate every bit of the music,” he says.
He speaks of a bygone era when his father Tharu Khan urged him to continue his legacy long after he was gone. like an obedient son and a faithful pupil, lakha Khan strictly adhered to his teachings on how to hold tones and internalised the stories behind ragas. “When I was eight years old, I use to sit next to my father while he played. I wasn’t learning to play at that time but I loved what he played. It was when I turned 11 that my father started teaching me how to play Sindhi sarangi,” he says.
Speaking about the changing status of folk music in Rajasthan, he feels that the present generation does not know as many songs. “The quality is going down. It is not the same quality as before – both in terms of the quality of the performers and their repertoire. Masters like Siddique Khan for the khartaal and Sakar Khan for the kamaicha have passed away and the next generation do not know as many songs,” says the folk singer and musician. Now in his 70s, lakha recalls that when he was young, he himself didn’t care much about the raga and just sang and played sarangi with passion. “I just sang in Raga Bhairavi anytime. Didn’t really think of the audience. But gradually I came to know that it is only dishonesty that I was showing towards my work. Now I sing in all the ragas according to the time. like Bhairavi is meant for the morning, and in the evening you sing Durga Kalyan. I am now honest to my art,” he says.
Khan is the seventh generation in a family of musicians who have been carrying forward the tradition of Rajasthani folk and sufi music whose legacy is said to date back almost 400 years. He reminisces the time when he first went for his international performance. “I was wondering the whole time that what will the foreigners understand of this music and language of itIJ It was very confusing to me. However, after every song we performed, the audience applauded us. It was then I understood that it was not language but the universal language of music which had bound us,”explains Khan.
lakha Khan shares that despite gaining recognition, the Government doesn’t extend support to the community of folk musicians and have almost abandoned them. He says, “Political parties come and go but they hardly ask after us. They have left us to earn and eat however we can. It is sad as my future generation might face this too. If not for music, we do not have any other skill and won’t be able to survive at all.”
A recipient of the Sangeet Natak Akademi award, lakha Khan is among the last in the Manganiyar lineage to have mastered the Sindhi sarangi.