Some two hours after touching down at Jodhpur airport in mid-February, I found myself at the gates of the Ahhichatragarh Fort, after making my way through the helter-skelter of Nagaur, a rather unremarkable town. Located halfway between Jodhpur and Bikaner, Nagaur is a typical old Indian town confused about its place in the modern world—it is choked with vehicles, shops and loudspeakers blaring everything from calls to prayer to sub-bass-pumping Bollywood hits. But although chaos engulfed the fort from all quarters, inside was a whole other world altogether.
Row upon row of white tents were set within the sand-and-stone acreage of the 12th century fortress, looking like a luxe barracks: Each tent was outfitted with a double bed, heater, floor fan, converted electric ‘laltains’ and a bathroom with running hot water and toiletries by a luxury ayurvedic brand. Traditional Rajasthani designs and motifs brightened up the otherwise staid safari tents, lending a local touch to the bedspread, durries and curtains.
As I set off on a walkabout around the property, scaled a flight of stairs to the ramparts and circumambulated the site, the contrast between the chaos outside the fortress walls and the serenity within became stark.
Ahhichatragarh Fort abounds in peelu trees, also called peelo vajradanti or toothbrush trees because of their twigs that are used to make natural teeth cleaners known as miswaak. Their cascading willow-esque leaves provide an effective camouflage for the posses of parakeets hiding within, who erupt in cacophonous union, scattering skyward at the slightest disturbance. From atop the bulwarks I got a bird’s-eye view of the durbari halls, courtyards and mini mahals interjected by water channels, fountains and baths, beautiful even in their waterless state.
By which time someone had the bright idea of using this relatively unknown but exquisite fort to host a yearly music festival. Evidently, the British pop star Sting had a role to play in the conception of what eventually became known as the Sacred Spirit Festival (he has attended but not performed at the festival yet). In its 13th year now, the festival has seen spiritual and classical musicians from India and around the world grace and uplift the air within these magnificent stone walls.
*****
This year boasted a fabulous line-up of artistes from Africa, the Middle East, Asia and India. Over three days and five stages, 13 acts played for a delighted audience, with many of the artistes giving the eager aficionados more than one performance, occasionally spontaneous and unscheduled in some quiet corner of the fort. Eschewing a current festival trend, no performance at any stage overlaps with another there’s plenty of time to move from one stage to the next, sometimes to grab a drink, a meal or even a short snooze, so you never have to miss out on any of the music. The stages were all relatively small, the lighting never overwhelming and the performances easy and personal.
The sunset concerts were no less divine. Artistes like bansuri virtuoso Rakesh Chaurasia and the South Korean experimental pair known as Duo Bud enthralled and entertained the audience as the day gave way to night. It was the magic hour when we were reminded not to take the daytime heat for granted those desert nights can get pretty cold.
Each night’s performance would end at the theatre of a hundred diyas (or perhaps a few hundred), at the sublimely lit Deepak Mahal, situated in a discreet corner of the fort. Danish Hussain Badayuni’s ecstatic qawwalis and Kachra Khan Manganiyar’s virtuosic renditions of Rajasthani musical lore could not have had a more romantic setting, though their words of love were directed not to human individuals but to the incorporeal and divine. Other performers at the festival included Iran’s Mohammed Motamedi, as well as Sufi poetry expert Madan Gopal Singh, ghazal exponent Kavita Seth, Rajasthani devotional singer Mir Mukhtiyar Ali and Kashmir’s Farooq Ahmad Ganie, all from India.
Three days of spiritual music in the desert did not mark the end of it. After this leg was done, the festival shifted for another three days to the more grandiose Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur. For me, though, Nagaur was truly special, its smaller scale vastly more endearing than the opulence of a large, imposing venue. This intimacy of musical experience and soul connection far outweighs the scale of any big festival, no matter how high the fortress walls or impressive the marquee names. The more I think about it, the more I realise I might just become one of its devoted repeat visitors.
First Published: Mar 28, 2020, 08:49
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