Titi Robin in Jaipur

photo Louis Vincent

Born and bred in the west of France, Thierry “Titi” Robin is a musical internationalist, brilliantly combining flamenco guitar with Arabic oud and the dance music of Rajasthan’s snake charmers. Titi Robin and his formation "Trio" are playing in Jaipur's hotel (Rajasthan, India)

Tune: La ville rose & Suite pour Oud
Musicians:
Titi Robin: 'Ud, Guitar, Buzuq
Ze Luis Nascimento: Percussions
Francis Varis: Accordeon
Gulabi Sapera: Dance

Bhavai

Bhavai is Rajasthan's famous folk dance comprising of a spectacular performance. This Dance form consists of veiled women dancers balancing upto seven or nine brass pitchers as they dance nimbly, pirouetting and then swaying with the soles of their feet perched on the top of a glass or on the edge of the sword. There is a sense of cutting edge suspense and nail biting acts in the dance.

Dance of the Desert by Kamal Sabri

DANCE OF THE DESERT- For the first time ever in the history of recorded music, a unique thematic music album featuring a 5 - sarangi ensemble. The instrument, which is synonymous with the vast desert of Rajasthan, enchants as it weaves through the vast landscape adding colour, music and vibrance to its stark, yet fascinating backdrop. Multiple layers of sarangi interlace with an ambient world music canvas to create a spellbinding new sound.

Dance of the Desert by Sarangi Maestro Kamal Sabri

Blue City

Jodhpur — known as the Blue City for the color of its buildings — is the second largest city in Rajasthan, the largest state of the Republic of India, standing at the edge of the large Thar Desert, which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with Pakistan.

Most of the buildings in the old quarter are painted blue to signify the Bhraman (Priest) class, but non-Brahmins soon followed suit, as the color was said to deflect the heat and deter mosquitoes, and suddenly everything turned blue, creating a broad vision of indigo from the hilltops.






Photo Tom Maisey

Puppetry in Rajasthan

Traditionally, Rajasthan has shared a rich heritage of puppetry. Still in some parts of Rajasthan, the Ramayana and Mahabarata epics are communicated through puppetry. Today, puppeteer's travel from one village to another to communicate meaningful messages to educate people and create general awareness.


The dancing dolls present a life full of colour and fun but the lives of their masters lack the sheen. The traditional puppeteers are leading a hand-to-mouth existence due to the declining patronage of the once-popular art form, which can be used to entertain and educate both children and adults.