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Dear Patrons,
If you prefer to contribute Directly to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in Thar, Rajasthan & not through Milaap, please feel free to contact the Campaign Manager through these channels :
Email : gatika108 @ protonmail.com
Instagram : www.instagram.com/gatika108
Milaap also generously allows us to accept funds here. Very grateful. They have been kind enough to not charge us platform fees. Thank you Lalrindiki Sailo, my campaign manager at Milaap for her constant support.
Scroll down to see all our updates and tune into our music below, we've been going together, since April 3rd, 2020.
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Enabling the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities as they battle an economic lockdown in rural Rajasthan because of #covid19
THE STORY at Campaign Kickoff
Day 0 : April 3, 2020
Location : Thar Desert, Rajasthan
Location : Thar Desert, Rajasthan
The Sarangiya Langa are traditional folk musicians who live in a remote village in the desert lands of Barmer, Rajasthan. The covid-19 lockdown left villagers with no time to gather supplies (either food rations or materials for sanitation).
Every child and adult in the village sings or plays at least 2 instruments in the Sarangiya Langa musical tradition, they are exceptionally talented, some of the last masters of the sarangi, algozha and khamaicha instruments. They live in mud houses with thatched roofs, make most utility items for daily use by hand and are mostly self sufficient.
The lockdown conditions have thrown up unforeseen logistical challenges involving movement of people and vehicles, as well as access to supplies as the markets are closed, especially in the desert.
There are a total of 1083 people in two villages, who have nothing to eat and no money to move.
Funds will be used to provide a monthly package of INR 4000/- to 376 family units in the Sarangiya Langa villages of Barmer, to just about last out for the months of April and May 2020.
All funds will go directly to the Sarangiya Langa community, on the call of Mehrudin Langa, the panch ( headman ) of the village, an acclaimed master folk musician himself. We have organised a 10 person team to procure and distribute relief material, while educating villagers on social distancing and sanitation.
Our only chance before the COVID-19 outbreak spreads is to collect food supplies immediately. There is little or no state transport functional currently through the village, villagers are using camels and horses for mid and long range travel. There is only one water source, a well used by both villages.
During earlier natural disasters like the drought and the floods, the Langa managed to survive because of the help of neighbouring communities. This time, restrictions on travel and the complete shut down of the market is making survival difficult without support in Rajasthan.
Feel free to contact the campaign manager here in case you're having trouble making a contribution or for other queries :
Email : gatika108 @ protonmail.com
Twitter : @milanntj
Instagram : @milanntj & @gatika108
Twitter : @milanntj
Instagram : @milanntj & @gatika108
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THE STORY so far :UPDATE 53 : Oct 12, 2020
Happiest photographs to keep receiving in the morning, food supplies being sorted and readied in Rajasthan, before labelling; a package for each individual on our list.
Totally in love with the gorgeous Zero-waste packaging, brilliant! We've been chugging on sheer inner belief during the pandemic, through unemployment, no rain, locust attacks and sustained administrative apathy. Thanking the stars for all who contribute generously and blessed to have found generous, empathetic partners in Osama Manzar and the Digital Empowerment Foundation.
Our caravan in the Thar Desert reaching out to the bards and minstrels of the Sarangiya & Surnaiya Langa continues its unadvertised journey, because of You. Here's to safekeeping the oldest storytellers of our land, here's to music!
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UPDATE 52 : Oct 12, 2020
UPDATE 52 : Oct 12, 2020
Thank you Gauri Bajaj ma'am, for lending your name and contributing generously towards the food security of the folk musicians of the Sarangiya and Surnaiya Langa of the Thar Desert, Barmer, Rajasthan. The videos attached, have been shot by two young musicians from the village:
Video 1 shows how an ancient well went dry, after taps were installed across the village. Video 2 and Video 3 demonstrate how Water comes once in a week now, and people store the supply in tanks or larger containers depending on their spending capacities. Incredible in today's times, huh? The least economically-sound are totally dependent on those defunct taps.
We still believe that the Indian Government (and all it stood for ever) can solve Basic Needs such as water, in this highly lucid, completely virtual day and age, I mean, how do you stay safe from a Pandemic if you don't have water to keep washing your hands?
I feel especially empowered by the large group of engineers from the Army Insititute of Technology for having contributed, debated and worked side-by side, to allow such an intervention impacting 1100 individuals in two villages possible, that too without any media patronage whatsoever and complete transparency. Aditya Kuppa, Surender Sinwar , Sukhbir Singh , Archana Menon, Archana Rao, Aarthi Mohan Markandey, Ashwin Krishnan sir, Kanika Kamal, Aishwarya Sirohi and Geetika Saini (ma'am) , cheers to you all!
I believe we are especially lucky because of our borrowed time in different geographical locations from posting-to-posting through all our growing years around the Indian Army, thank you all for safekeeping the culture that makes us whole. Go, Army Institute of Technology!
Gauri ma'am, I leave you with some lines written by Kapila Vatsyayan, a stalwart in Indian intangible Cultural heritage, who recently passed away at the age of 91, “Culture is similar to weaving. If you are the weaver, then respect all the colours in the threads. Respect the dynamics of the weft and the warp. It is only then you can optimize the functionality of human communities. Diversity is the strength of Culture. If you suppress diversity, you kill the human community."
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UPDATE 51 : Oct 11, 2020
UPDATE 51 : Oct 11, 2020
Soumya Swarnim Shankar, thank you for your contribution for the second time to the folk musicians of the Thar Desert, the Sarangiya Langa, the Surnaiya Langa and all in between.
Really appreciate the debates we've had since April on the great distances between the rural and the urban Indian rhetoric, especially since we've never met before. May there be more retellings of this ongoing story. Attached is the Label appended to each individual package assigned to each of the 1100 people from the two villages we are reaching, with every Man, Woman, Girl and Boy in the family marked. Thank you for making these 1100 deliveries a transparent reality.
Codename Pinky&TheBrain thank you for analysing our data from the villages, running code through it and guiding me to the Outliers in our data set. We will be giving extra food packages to all houses with No Men accordingly, Subee is one of them. Thank you BongoGiraffa for being a rock and a tree though this journey since March, may your Tribe flourish, thank you for being the light in the many tunnels. And Jame'sBox, thank you for sketching out that Langa sarangi bow in free hand and filling in the details for each of the 1100 Package Labels.
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UPDATE 50 : Oct 9, 2020
UPDATE 50 : Oct 9, 2020
As the world transitions into a 'career changing' adaptive arc, it is incredible that our Nation State has still not got its machine geared to take care of the HUGE hunger, poverty, unemployment and healthcare issues looming ahead. No logistics, No Strategy. How does the Centre have the time to wear pretty hats right now? Economist Amartya Sen said, 'Global poverty is on the increase. The global health and financial architecture must be further strengthened, and in parts redesigned to enhance our preparedness and capacity to act with speed and at scale to fight future crises.'
While on assignment, during the course of making https://onehundredhomes.in , we were already appalled by how worrying the numbers actually were of people on The Poverty Line, compared to those in the last Census of India, 2011.
The divide between the Snug and the Totally Impoverished yawns open Now at exponential rates. Urban India's home cooking skills will not fix how radically our futures are being redesigned at the Centre. I mean, what when food grain supplies stop reaching the city settlements. There is no going back to what 'normal' used to be.
I still look out for that idea of India that allowed me to roam free in its alleyways, fields and country roads. It has become a matter of personal will, may India walk out of this fire stronger. Hatred has no place in India, she will turn over these embers. She always does.
Aishwarya Sirohi, good to have an engineer on board from the crew again. Go, Army Institute of Technology.
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UPDATE 49 : Oct 2, 2020
UPDATE 49 : Oct 2, 2020
Hey Anonymous, the 29th, thank you for your contribution to eight folk musicians of the Thar desert bardic traditions.
And thank you for popping in right now!
I've had some amounts of success in tracing 15 Anonymous patrons so far, and it is incredible how human networks can work in times of solidarity, So Much like a mycelium network on a forest floor! They were kind enough to share their names with me, so I'll skip sharing their origins.
Watch out for a song in praise of this very special constellation of patrons from over the high seas. Makes me warm to think of island folk reaching out to musicians in a desert.
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UPDATE 48 : Oct 1, 2020
UPDATE 48 : Oct 1, 2020
Thank you for stepping in for the folk musician communities of the Thar Desert, your proceeds go towards both the Sarangiya and the Shehnaiya Langa bards on our lists. In the frame, is a little musician with a self-styled swinging toy he used to carry around.
Recently been reading through a couple of books from the 1920s, in connection with the time your grandfather/my great grandfather were around.
Came across the most beautiful lines written at that time, by an anthropologist in first hand, detailing out the reasons the patrons in the old village systems looked out to sustain and safekeep talent from multiple disciplines in the local ecosystem. It read something like this, 'Groups are a natural expression of diversities and likenesses existing in the human mind and are individual character writ large. The greatest contributing factor to a sense of security and social insurance in a village community is the recognition of its common responsibility for the livelihood of all its members, including its own dependents, delinquents and defectives.'
Hahahah. We seemed way more advanced as a human network a century ago! Such clarity.
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UPDATE 47 : Sep 13, 2020
UPDATE 47 : Sep 13, 2020
Ashwin Krishnan sir, thank you for pitching into these efforts reaching out to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities. This will be our last week on Milaap as a platform, before we switch into Stage Two. If there's anything this pandemic has brought out, it is the need to rethink technology and the way our economy works.
A few months back I had tuned into an interesting discussion between economist Arun Maira and Osama Manzar, I got hit by this thought that came out, 'The economy needs to serve humanity, humanity does not need to serve the economy'. I agree. Humans who have become machines, need to switch back. And who's end does technology serve anyway? Who has it effected? Isolated? Muted? What are the blockages? How do we cross over the huge Digital Divide rural India faces?
In an age where the only way people make money, get educated, access resources or stay covid-free is through an internet-charged WFH model (currently drowning in Zoom Webinars), how can we afford to be unconcerned about the exclusion of the true majority of India, the ones who live in RURAL areas. No healthcare strategy, no food disbursal from the State's reserves, but Data free main kyon nahi diya ja raha?
Access to data equates to Access to food. And we're not going to get anywhere out of this pandemic till the last one of us gets healed. The soap bubbles won't last forever.
Ashwin Krishnan, thanks for being that senior who gave totally open access to the Music Room at Engineering college to us juniors, when we were still in pigtails. I met some of my oldest friends right there, and it was a space which gave me much relief from the sheep brigades, I found my voice! Haha! Thank you for being here again, sir. I have passed on your message, 'May you continue your sadhana of music.'
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UPDATE 46 : Sep 11, 2020
UPDATE 46 : Sep 11, 2020
Vandita Jain, you came back a second time to pitch into the folk form of the Sarangiya Langa musician communities.
Here's a micro nugget from pages and pages of free hand sketches from an automatic-drawing exercise I asked the Foundation students of NID Ahmedabad to do, while hearing the Langa tunes and watching their story in film. Gorgeous music, through changing hands.
Thank you for standing up for the oral archives, you.
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UPDATE 46 : Sep 11, 2020
UPDATE 46 : Sep 11, 2020
Hey Rakshit Dhamija! Thank you so much for lending your name and contribution towards the food security of the folk musicians of the Sarangiya Langa in the Thar Desert. Sending you a verse from an old song written by a woman from the big dunes.
'O beautiful flamingoes dont fly off just yet
come sit with me,
come sit with me,
I still have some more stories to tell you
so stay awhile, hear them.'
so stay awhile, hear them.'
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UPDATE 45 : Sep 9, 2020
UPDATE 45 : Sep 9, 2020
So when this pandemic rolled out in India, everyone started paying attention to economics, like the kind related to the Poverty Line, especially because they could see their carpenters, electricians and maids walk home to their villages. Hunger could be seen.
Then rural domestic violence and flat out rapes and murders went up exponentially. Hunger was present in the neighborhood. I know urban domestic violence will take its time to trickle out as personal stories, but do not understand celebrating the sickness with a tabloid male suicide, academic breakdowns of hallucinogens, and now we're smashing the patriarchy? Haha.
Hunger is here. It's in the villages. The dudes at the top haven't fed people On, Above or Below that 'Poverty Line', oye!
More than Three - fourths of the patrons of the 2 villages on my lists, are women. Women know hunger. Dear women patrons, be assured to know I have specifically assigned extra food packages for women in households with no men. Each and every person gets a separate package, labelled right down to the last child. Smash the patriarchy by making sure everyone has food, smash the patriarchy by caring about others. Because Hunger is here, I'm going to say it again.
Lesely Berganain, I don't know who you are, but thanks a lot for staying connected and for your contribution. This is an image I took outside a woman's granary and kitchen, with a goat and a dead harmonium in the shade, somehow a part of her daily concerns. She was inside cooking.
Shout out if you can see this, woman!
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UPDATE 44 : Aug 31, 2020
UPDATE 44 : Aug 31, 2020
Happy to share Tune 09 from the Sarangiya Langa Desert Radio.
Headphones on!
Headphones on!
Sung by one of the most distinguished bards of this region, the song, Manihara, is about a bangle seller crossing through the distant desert, a tribute to all of the 28 Anonymous patrons of the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in two villages of Rajasthan, with a secret message in the end. Thank you for playing the mirage in our desert!
The musician who sings today, has been recognized as the Marwar Ratan by the Maharaja of Jodhpur HH Gaj Singh Ji, one of the many burning stars living in these hamlets of the Thar Desert, Rajasthan.
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UPDATE 43 : Aug 30, 2020
Jasmine Kaur, wherever you are, thank you for your contribution towards the food security and digital empowerment of the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities of Thar, Rajasthan.
Thank you for your message : 'Jeete raho.'
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UPDATE 42 : Aug 30, 2020
UPDATE 42 : Aug 30, 2020
Dear Anonymous Anomalous, there's 28 of you out there,
Thank you ever so much for your invisible support. It takes a village to support two villages! Over 28 people have so kindly contributed to this Call Out from the Sarangiya Langas of Barmer, that's close to almost half of our patrons so far. Thank you for playing the part of the Generous Invisible Universe, may you be at the receiving end of the same quiet giving, 28 times over.
Thank you ever so much for your invisible support. It takes a village to support two villages! Over 28 people have so kindly contributed to this Call Out from the Sarangiya Langas of Barmer, that's close to almost half of our patrons so far. Thank you for playing the part of the Generous Invisible Universe, may you be at the receiving end of the same quiet giving, 28 times over.
Surender Sinwar, Aditya Kuppa, Sukhbir Singh, Archana Rao, Aurelie Chauleur and my sister the lovely Annu Joe, I'm highly aware of your 'anonymous' contributions. Prakash Moorthy, I know you did something out there, I can see traces of your anonymity. Thank you all so much. For the others, who I cannot still trace, do send me an email, a message or call at any of my channels. You know how to reach me, I would love to hear from you.
The most undercover of the patrons to the Sarangiya Langas, though, has got to be the patronage for one month provided by the Maharaja of Jodhpur, HH Raj Rajeshwar Saramad-i-Rajha-i-Hindustan Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri GAJ SINGHJI II Sahib Bahadur. We have word that our lists were utilised by His Highness' footmen, by request. Ever grateful for your shadow patronage, Your Highness.
Neha P, thank you for just joining into the efforts to work out short term food security for the Sarangiya Langa and Shehnaiya Langa folk musician communities. I don't really think I know you, please shout out if you read this.
Stay tuned, music plays for our 28 Anonymous, next up!
'In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.'
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UPDATE 41 : Aug 26, 2020
UPDATE 41 : Aug 26, 2020
Kanika Kamal, good to have your cheery face here with us :D , also great to have another engineer from the mothership, on board! Thank you for being a patron to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities of the Thar Desert.
Even though these kids live deep in the desert, their music and their singing has given them the wings to travel abroad, through live shows and even through film.
Their music in the film we worked on, for example, was found to connect instantly with kids in very distant lands, with over 15 premieres across multiple venues in France, Poland, Corsica, Indonesia, Morocco, Palestine, Nepal, India, it even played a daily show when it was hosted by the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada. As a part of the Al Kamandjâti Festival in Palestine, the festival made stopovers in Nablus, Jenin, Al Khalil ‘Hebron’, Gaza, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jerusalem, and in the desert toward the Jordan Valley through villages, cities and refugee camps. Here's hoping for better times for kids across the world soon, may the tunes carry through.
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UPDATE 40 : Aug 25, 2020
Ana, thank you so much for not only contributing to the folk musicians in the desert, but also popping up a Supporting Campaign to reach people in Spain, your country (!! : )
You're perfectly bang on, our countries have much in common! Thank you for your warm spontaneity in lending us your voice to reach the Spanish people, in your own words,
"Poco se habla de la crisis humanitaria que está sufriendo la India rural. Posiblemente hayáis leído que la cuarentena ha obligado a millones de trabajadores en India a volver, en tren o incluso a pie, a sus pueblos de origen. Para ellos no hay opción, hacinados y sin dinero, se han visto forzados a escapar del hambre. Algunos nunca llegan. Pero de lo que no se habla apenas es de los que ya empobrecidos, se están viendo directamente sin medios logísticos para poder conseguir suministros, para sobrevivir. Esta es la historia de los Sarangiya Langa, músicos folclóricos tradicionales que viven en una aldea remota en las tierras desérticas de Barmer, Rajasthan."
I wish you light, Ana!
UPDATE 39 : Aug 25, 2020
Aditi Banerjee, thank you so much for contributing to the villages of the folk musicians of Barmer, means a lot to me to have your presence here.
Yesterday, I got a call from the village, from a little girl who had made masks right when we started spreading awareness about covid-19 in the villages. She said she lost her notebook, where she'd kept a count of how many masks she had made, and if I could look through the notes I had, and see if I could send her some money to pay for the cloth and the work.
By now, I'm quite used to little kids from the village calling me up to talk every other day, but very rarely do the girls call, all by themselves. I asked her how she was, and how things were at home, and slowly it came to light that her sister's baby, who was a newborn at the beginning of the lockdown, is extremely weak and not looking well at all these days. He hasn't sat up, or turned or uttered a word, and they have been making long trips to the city 5 hours away to get him checked, all through the pandemic. Her sister's husband has been unemployed since the lockdown, and her brothers are doing the best they can, but it's just not getting better, the baby cannot seem to balance his head on his neck.
I don't know when this nightmare will end, cannot even imagine the malnutrition in children growing up during this time. And I definitely cannot imagine the scale of what women must be going through right now, wordlessly. It is macabre to be in a society which would rather watch a Head of State feed peafowl instead. The State cannot overlook this nightmare of human circumstance emerging while they do nada. Neither can our society blur it out by pretending it's time to get back to business.
We need Change.
Yesterday, I got a call from the village, from a little girl who had made masks right when we started spreading awareness about covid-19 in the villages. She said she lost her notebook, where she'd kept a count of how many masks she had made, and if I could look through the notes I had, and see if I could send her some money to pay for the cloth and the work.
By now, I'm quite used to little kids from the village calling me up to talk every other day, but very rarely do the girls call, all by themselves. I asked her how she was, and how things were at home, and slowly it came to light that her sister's baby, who was a newborn at the beginning of the lockdown, is extremely weak and not looking well at all these days. He hasn't sat up, or turned or uttered a word, and they have been making long trips to the city 5 hours away to get him checked, all through the pandemic. Her sister's husband has been unemployed since the lockdown, and her brothers are doing the best they can, but it's just not getting better, the baby cannot seem to balance his head on his neck.
I don't know when this nightmare will end, cannot even imagine the malnutrition in children growing up during this time. And I definitely cannot imagine the scale of what women must be going through right now, wordlessly. It is macabre to be in a society which would rather watch a Head of State feed peafowl instead. The State cannot overlook this nightmare of human circumstance emerging while they do nada. Neither can our society blur it out by pretending it's time to get back to business.
We need Change.
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UPDATE 38 : Aug 23, 2020
UPDATE 38 : Aug 23, 2020
I really hope the idea of a 'Social Security Pension' for particularly the Elderly emerges quickly in India, especially in the rural areas.
At the very start of the pandemic, I came across what I thought was a great visualisation for a Mobile PPS (Personal Protective Space) for doctors, designed by Berlin-based architects, Plastique Fantastique.
At the very start of the pandemic, I came across what I thought was a great visualisation for a Mobile PPS (Personal Protective Space) for doctors, designed by Berlin-based architects, Plastique Fantastique.
I thought this space suggestion, was a great way of highlighting the empathy levels needed to tackle a disease of this scale. Ideas and philosophies don't manifest till you visualise them. Even imagining a space such as is this, is empathetic. I get what they mean. I can totally imagine pneumatic spaces being custom designed for each terrain, all we need is the Will to engineer it.
.
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Wouldn't it be wonderful if the citizens of India were protected in the same way, doctors, the sick, the old knowledge bearers, with Women and children, first.
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Wouldn't it be wonderful if the citizens of India were protected in the same way, doctors, the sick, the old knowledge bearers, with Women and children, first.
I would be so proud if the Central Government of India supported innovative ideas to ensure the health security of the knowledge bearing elders, all across. There is still so much to learn from them.
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Ahoy Abhilasha Gautam! I don't think we've met? Thank you for stepping up to look out for the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the dunes, Rajasthan. May you receive back the light and warmth you share with us.
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UPDATE 37 : Aug 22, 2020
UPDATE 37 : Aug 22, 2020
Thank you Abhinav Saxena, for your contribution towards the Sarangiya & Surnaiya Langa folk musicians in the Thar desert, dunes of Rajasthan. Thank you for supporting them, as the first musician on our caravan serai in fact. May the mountains recharge your guitar strings and give new light, keep transponding the music, looking forward to seeing you soon with your beloved guitar.
To polyphony! 💙
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UPDATE 36 : Aug 22, 2020
UPDATE 36 : Aug 22, 2020
Malika Soin, thank you for taking out the time to look out for the food security of the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the far dunes. You were quickly followed by Sarthak Soin, I am assuming he is a member of your family, thank you Both for choosing to be a part of this tight knit, interdependent network.
I've started believing that Indian economists have been almost like oracles when it comes to their predictions, right from the start in March. I wonder why they are not being republished over and over again. On March 30th, 2020, Jean Drèze wrote, 'The government should immediately release food stocks. It has huge food stocks. What is preventing it from releasing those stocks? There are nearly sixty million tonnes of wheat and rice in the godowns of the Food Corporation of India—that’s just before the wheat harvest, when the stocks normally rise further, sometimes up to eight million tonnes or so. That’s more than three times the buffer-stock norms, the level of stock that is sufficient to meet the operational requirement of foodgrains and exigencies at any point of time. Releasing this could ensure that there are food-distribution centres all over the place.'
On May 20, 2020, Jean Drèze wrote again, pressing upon the need for a 'Social Security Pension' enstated by the country urgently, to support the elderly, widows and dependents of very poor families. His words ended with the line, 'We do not need an Authoritarian centre, we need a Participatory strategy to deal with the covid-19 economic snowball.'
It is the end of August now, and with no plans visible to manifest food security or any form of social security pension scheme, I hope all the economists keep writing abreast with the turn of events, they were bang on to begin with. What happens to one, will effect us all.
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UPDATE 35 : Aug 19, 2020
UPDATE 35 : Aug 19, 2020
Hello world. I am very happy to report a collaboration of forces, the very first one in fact, on this otherwise solo, unadvertised, ride into the desert, powered by the full support of around 69 individual contributors in tow so far.
Very pleased now, to be working with Osama Manzar and the Digital Empowerment Foundation, in not only ensuring humanitarian aid for the short term, but also visualising possibilites towards digitally empowering the folk musician communities of the Sarangiya Langa and Surnaiya Langa in Barmer, Rajasthan.
So good to discover a whole multiverse of people who quite selflessly work towards joining the dots in rural India, I am bowled over with DEF's generosity in adding to our contribution amount and hope to emulate their high standard of ethics while working on the field. But more on their superpowers later! 😁
A big Shout Out to the patrons riding with us so far, thank you for empowering the two villages in the desert with your generosity and active presence. We could not have manifested these realities without your quiet encouragement !
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UPDATE 34 : Aug 08, 2020
UPDATE 34 : Aug 08, 2020
Aarthi Mohan, you songbird. Thank you for taking care of 26 individuals from the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the Thar desert for a month, and calling in to check on their status. You're also the second patron from the 17 Parachute Field Regiment (SF) of the Indian Armed Forces on our roll. Thank you for jumping headlong into this. Superb to have you on board, can't wait to sing with you again.
Go 17 Para! Izzat-O-Iqbal
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UPDATE 33 : Aug 06, 2020
UPDATE 33 : Aug 06, 2020
Strange times for India as a country. Hunger and disease seem to have taken a back seat so quickly while the pandemic itself shows no signs of receding. Are we distracting ourselves with old myths because we're scared? Sounds like an abusive relationship laced with numbing intoxicants, how did mythology become bigger than human living?
Dear Harun, thank you for your contribution of Rs 200/-. Means a lot to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in Rajasthan and me. I wish you are well, wherever you are, here's wishing you back light.
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UPDATE 32 : July 04, 2020
UPDATE 32 : July 04, 2020
Akshay Mahajan, it is a pleasure to have you on board with the folk musician communities in the villages of the Sarangiya Langa, Rajasthan. Thank you for standing up for folk sound and oral stories. Sending your way an old verse on the craftsmen and farmers of these deserts,
'The one who fights on the battlefield
we call him a warrior
and the one
who finds his weapons and strength
in nature's scattered things
we call him a saint
for there is nothing more he needs.'
we call him a warrior
and the one
who finds his weapons and strength
in nature's scattered things
we call him a saint
for there is nothing more he needs.'
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UPDATE 31 : July 03, 2020
UPDATE 31 : July 03, 2020
Lionel Brard, thank you for being with us thrice over, every month since April 2020, during the covid-19 outbreak in Thar, Rajasthan.
Sending you a song in two voices, a song about Krishna or Kanuda as he is known in these parts. Thank you for your generosity, we sing for you today.
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UPDATE 30 : July 03, 2020
Lionel Brard, thank you for being with the folk musicians, month by month, since April, you contributed 3 times to the communities of the Sarangiya and Surnaiya Langa of the Thar desert, once with Karine Brard Guillet in tow. Your presence was felt, you have taken care of 5 families since we started this campaign.
I hope you can see us while we beam out a song especially for you later today. I know you know the music of the Langa. We agree with you and the quote you shared from Jack Kerouac's 'Desolation Angels', 'The only truth is music.'
#jackkerouac #desolationangels 'Because all these serious faces’ll only drive you mad, the only truth is music – the only meaning is without meaning – Music blends with the heartbeat universe and we forget the brain beat.'
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UPDATE 29 : June 30, 2020
Vandita Jain, thank you for contributing towards the food security of the genealogists of the Western Indian deserts. And you came back again later to contribute more as well. Thank you Twice from the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities, salutes.
#femaledirectors #femaledops #genealogists
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UPDATE 28 : June 29, 2020
Prriyanka Gonawalaa and Ameya, thank you for reaching out to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician village roots, I’ve put you at the rooftops of the village neighbourhood, hand-braided grass and rope, topping off rammed earth walls on a cloudy day.
Your generosity allows us to still stand up to indifferent governance.
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UPDATE 27 : June 24, 2020
UPDATE 27 : June 24, 2020
So much gratitude towards all the kind people of the metaverse for their generosity and continuous giving, even today.
Special shout out to the folk at Milaap for leaving our campaign open and continuing to support us athttps://milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
Photograph by Josef Koudelka, from his Roma trails.
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UPDATE 26 : June 14, 2020
UPDATE 26 : June 14, 2020
Manu Batra, thank you for watching out for us, all through.
Lyrics of an old song from the Sarangiya Langa folk tradition, about a camel making its way to Barmer, the place the Sarangiya Langa live in, sung by a munchkin Langa musician
' Let this camel run
Let her go to Barmer city.
She is passing through the dry lands of Magre
Let this camel run. '
Barmer in Western Rajasthan, used to be a major stop for the caravan serais which passed through along the Old Silk Route, from Europe and Africa, down through Baluchistan. Times have passed, and the oasis has shifted, but the song stays.
' Let this camel run
Let her go to Barmer city.
She is passing through the dry lands of Magre
Let this camel run. '
Barmer in Western Rajasthan, used to be a major stop for the caravan serais which passed through along the Old Silk Route, from Europe and Africa, down through Baluchistan. Times have passed, and the oasis has shifted, but the song stays.
If any ANIMAL lovers want to match donations towards the food security of native species of goats, sheep, horses and camels in the region, please feel to contact us, from India or abroad. Locust attacks have left the entire region without green, farmers fear for a complete dearth of even naturally growing fodder by the end of June, that's when the rains arrive in the desert and the locust swarms' eggs hatch.
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UPDATE 25 : June 13, 2020
Saravanan Lakshmanan, I hope you are well. Thank you so much for stepping in to reach out to the Sarangiya Langa folk musicians in Rajasthan.
It is a pleasure having you present here. Saravanan is an extremely talented Fine artist and Apparel Designer from NID, Ahmedabad. Sarani, here's the saddle of a horse called Kalu. This is pretty much all the villagers tie on while riding, no metal bits, no stirrups, completely handmade in the dunes.
Today is the last day of this fundraiser on Milaap. If you would like to contribute specifically towards the CRAFT network in these villages in the dunes of the Thar desert, please contribute here, every mite counts.
UPDATE 24 : June 13, 2020
Today is the last day of this fundraiser on Milaap. If you would like to contribute specifically towards the CRAFT network in these villages in the dunes of the Thar desert, please contribute here, every mite counts.
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UPDATE 24 : June 13, 2020
Garima Aggarwal Roy, thank you for your contribution towards the Sarangiya Langa folk musicians in Barmer, Thar. Sending you a favourite charpai from the village. Garima is a gifted Furniture Designer from the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, and recently, she has also been involved in relief work for migrant labourers in her neighbourhood along with a team of well-meaning relief workers. Thank you for pitching in here as well, Garima!
I'm willing to bet crafts could kick back life into the village economy, even as a direct result of the covid19- induced economic spiral. Most of the articles the villagers use, are completely handmade, right from jewellery, to fabric, to mud earth architecture, they're also amongst the last makers of the algozha, sarangi and narh instruments.
I'm willing to bet crafts could kick back life into the village economy, even as a direct result of the covid19- induced economic spiral. Most of the articles the villagers use, are completely handmade, right from jewellery, to fabric, to mud earth architecture, they're also amongst the last makers of the algozha, sarangi and narh instruments.
If there is to be any economic rejuvenation locally, it can only happen through the growth of the village craft system’s interdependent network. So many craft-based knowledge systems nearly got erased because of the last 60 years of market homogenization. Maybe the wheels will turn the other way now, it's about time! Hoping the metal workers, potters and weavers take back their place as a living membrane in the village economy. May the farmers help them get organised.
If you would like to contribute specifically towards the CRAFT network in these villages in the dunes of the Thar desert, please contribute at the link below.
---------------------------------UPDATE 23 : June 13, 2020
Women are the first teachers of music among the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities of the Thar desert, Barmer, Rajasthan. Thank you so much for your support, Dr. Priti Kodikal, we send you a music lesson. Last day of the fundraiser today!
Women bear the brunt of the covid-19 catastrophe. I cannot agree more with economist Jean Drèze, when he said we need to pay attention minutely to Human Consequences, now more than ever, especially in rural India.
Families of the workers in our villages include women, kids and the old. Since the Male breadwinner lost his job, young women who just got married, for example, are worst off, they have no remittances, no ration cards ( because documents have not been updated since marriage), no OPDs, no awareness of Rights and they also have no idea how long the crisis will continue. They have unschooled children at home, food & fodder insecurity, water shortage for daily use and they tend to eat the least in the family unit. A major part of the Behavioural Impact on the whole village rides on these women's health.
If you would like to contribute specifically towards widows and the most vulnerable WOMEN in the village, please do so at the link on this page.
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UPDATE 22 : June 13, 2020
UPDATE 20 was a Shout Out to skilled individuals out there, in India or abroad, who think they can play a part in imagining alternate solutions to current realities in rural India.
We would like to reiterate that the catastrophes listed out as Humanitarian, Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Economic and Behavioural impact have not been sequenced lightly. Each head leads to a node cluster of more detail, and we have been working on mapping insights on the basis of the ground realities in the villages, this is a collaboration of individuals spanning over many disciplines. Very grateful to remotely work with these brilliant minds.
And I guess it is exactly for this reason ( and maybe for situations such as these ) that our SIX Fundamental Rights as Citizens of India are
1. Right to equality (Articles. 14-18)
2. Right to Freedom (Articles. 19-22)
3. Right Against exploitation (Articles. 23-24)
4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Articles. 25- 28)
5. Cultural and Educational Rights (Articles. 29-30)
6. Right to Constitutional remedies (Articles. 32-35)
The writers of the Constitution of India knew this kind of a situation could happen all along! We’ve Always had the Right to Live a life of Dignity, I'd almost forgotten.
Time to have better imaginations, reimagine systems from scratch. Feel free to reach us at : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
Shrestha Mathur, thank you so much for your contribution towards the Sarangiya Langa! I hope you are safe and well.
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UPDATE 21 :
UPDATE 21 :
Notes from the Underground ( MAY - JUNE, 2020)
Special note to thank the generosity of all contributors to this campaign.
Thank you for standing up for the dignity of folk artists in India.
Mandus Ridefelt, thank you for joining in our efforts to reach supplies to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the desert. You jumped in on the third day! A big hug to you, wherever you are.
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The Sarangiya Langa music we recorded, has travelled to more than 12 international festivals since then. Starting from the back, it was screened 4 days in a row in Montréal, Canada, curated by the Festival La Grande Rencontre.
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Archana Rao, I know you did this, because of the message you sent in, and I Must name you. You also put in 1000$ into providing relief to transgenders in Hyderabad when I sent you the link. I'm stumped for words, thank you for benefiting the lives of so many people, while being under lockdown yourself.
In better times, when the rulers of the land were generous and had poets in their royal council, harvests would be plentiful, song, dance and paintings would flourish, and there would be similar spikes in the study of astronomy, physics, architecture and mathematics.
Seating you at a jharokha jaali on the highest floors of the Mehrangarh palace, with the sounds of a sarinda played by a Sarangiya Langa to keep you company for a moment, the Blue City lies before you. Thank you for looking out for us, princess!
The instrument, sarinda ( also known as the surinda) is found in the area starting from South eastern Iran (where it is known as the ghichek) through Baluchistan right across to east India, the old bustling Silk Roads. It is now quite rare and is played exclusively by the Langa in Western Rajasthan.
#surinda #sarinda #ghichek #silkroute #iran #baluchistan #sindh #patron #bluecity #jharokha #jaali #intangibleculturalheritage
Nikita Rudrappa, was my partner camerawoman, while shooting with the Sarangiya Langa folk musicians in Rajasthan, and it was a great experience complementing each other's cameras, specially because of her gentle working style and imagery. Shooting with children in the desert sun with no assistants, heat-jammed cameras & sand-filled tripods was physically exhausting, but we were often gifted with surprises like these bare-back horsemen we ran into out of nowhere, in the middle of the dunes. Thanks for the contribution, you!
The Sarangiya Langa music we recorded, has travelled to more than 12 international festivals since then. Starting from the back, it was screened 4 days in a row in Montréal, Canada, curated by the Festival La Grande Rencontre.
__________________________________
Thank you for your contribution, Anonymous, the 7th. In solidarity with you, wherever you are. And thank you for your message! :
'May the whole community benefit from this help coming from the different corners of the World. We all depend on each others' solidarity.'Here's a reply from the Sarangiya Langa community : 'दुनिया में ऐसे बहुत कम लोग हैं जो दूसरों के लिए करते हैं हर कोई अपने लिए करता लेकिन आप हमारे लिए कर रही हो | Great salute.'
Anonymous, the 8th, you are our biggest donor this far, you stepped in on the third day of our journey. Thank you for being a patron of the Sarangiya Langa folk musicians.
Archana Rao, I know you did this, because of the message you sent in, and I Must name you. You also put in 1000$ into providing relief to transgenders in Hyderabad when I sent you the link. I'm stumped for words, thank you for benefiting the lives of so many people, while being under lockdown yourself.
In better times, when the rulers of the land were generous and had poets in their royal council, harvests would be plentiful, song, dance and paintings would flourish, and there would be similar spikes in the study of astronomy, physics, architecture and mathematics.
Seating you at a jharokha jaali on the highest floors of the Mehrangarh palace, with the sounds of a sarinda played by a Sarangiya Langa to keep you company for a moment, the Blue City lies before you. Thank you for looking out for us, princess!
The instrument, sarinda ( also known as the surinda) is found in the area starting from South eastern Iran (where it is known as the ghichek) through Baluchistan right across to east India, the old bustling Silk Roads. It is now quite rare and is played exclusively by the Langa in Western Rajasthan.
__________________________________
Two moons have passed and migrant labourers are still walking back into the Sarangiya Langa villages in Rajasthan. No end to the hunger-related snowball effect and the total lack of rural journalism reaching urban India .
Want to thank you, Gautam Nair, for your contribution to the musical repertoire of the Sarangiya Langa. Thank you for doing such a stellar job recording and live mixing the Langa music when we were on site, all by yourself. You’ve seen this moon before. Sound travels.
#soundengineer #fieldrecording #themoon
Want to thank you, Gautam Nair, for your contribution to the musical repertoire of the Sarangiya Langa. Thank you for doing such a stellar job recording and live mixing the Langa music when we were on site, all by yourself. You’ve seen this moon before. Sound travels.
#soundengineer #fieldrecording #themoon
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Fourth tune out on the Sarangiya Langa RADIO!
Jalalo Bilalo is a ballad, a love song about a shape-shifting lover from Oral history.
Being hereditary professional musicians, the Sarangiya Langa are bards who keep and recite genealogies for generations of patrons. Perhaps because they are genealogists, they are able to retain a very complex set of kin relationships, past and present, in their memory.
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Carmen sings the Gypsy song
Salvador Dalí, 1968
Salvador Dalí, 1968
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UPDATE 20 : JUNE 13, 2020
Ninad Shah, you came back to contribute to our fundraiser and it is a pleasure to have you again!
Thank you for looking out for two families amongst the 1083 individuals in two villages in the Thar desert, this includes folk musicians of the Sarangiya Langa, Surnaiya Langa, a few Kalbeliya and everyone from the village in between. Sending you a postcard with the face of a little musician who politely stalked us through our work on ground in Rajasthan, sometimes also with his balloon.
When we began this campaign in April, we weren’t sure how many people of the urban digital audience would be able to even comprehend the state of chaos on ground in the remote rural. The educational system and employment cycles in India have been such, that very few have ever even experienced a lived life in a small village in the boondocks. When fund collection in urban areas for migrant workers started, we were very inspired by the number of international alliances that sprouted to ease the suffering of ‘The Exodus’ of migrants from cities, a lot of these funding organisations comprised of trained Indian professionals and academics based out of the US and Europe, but the choice of the communities they chose to benefit remained restricted to ones working in cities, and I guess we can put the blame on The Total Lack of Rural Journalism again for that one, internationals only get to read urban Indian journalistic produce etc.
Thank you for looking out for two families amongst the 1083 individuals in two villages in the Thar desert, this includes folk musicians of the Sarangiya Langa, Surnaiya Langa, a few Kalbeliya and everyone from the village in between. Sending you a postcard with the face of a little musician who politely stalked us through our work on ground in Rajasthan, sometimes also with his balloon.
When we began this campaign in April, we weren’t sure how many people of the urban digital audience would be able to even comprehend the state of chaos on ground in the remote rural. The educational system and employment cycles in India have been such, that very few have ever even experienced a lived life in a small village in the boondocks. When fund collection in urban areas for migrant workers started, we were very inspired by the number of international alliances that sprouted to ease the suffering of ‘The Exodus’ of migrants from cities, a lot of these funding organisations comprised of trained Indian professionals and academics based out of the US and Europe, but the choice of the communities they chose to benefit remained restricted to ones working in cities, and I guess we can put the blame on The Total Lack of Rural Journalism again for that one, internationals only get to read urban Indian journalistic produce etc.
One of the seven economists closely watching the humanitarian crisis in rural India believes this is just the start of a humanitarian catastrophe, he calls the migrant labourer in India 'the poster boy for covid-19', but what of 85% percent of the population in rural areas who funded this migrant labourer to walk home and kept recharging his phone so he might stay connected? How is the 85% faring?
Since the start of this project, we have been delighted to be approached by many professionals asking how they could help, play a part somehow with their remote skill sets, knowing that the crisis we are watching is long term. We are well aware that Humanitarian aid is short term, so how do we approach the next in the snowball of crises bound to follow in terms of Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Economic rejuvenation and Behavioral impact? How do we make sure impact plays out on ground and not just as a piece of conceptual art ?
Shout out to the highly skilled individuals out there, in India or abroad, who think they can play a part in imagining alternate solutions, please feel free to mail us directly on our page or any of the social media channels, and here’s where you can contribute, last 2 days of this fundraiser cycle, help us spread the word : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
UPDATE 19 : JUNE 13, 2020
Since the start of this project, we have been delighted to be approached by many professionals asking how they could help, play a part somehow with their remote skill sets, knowing that the crisis we are watching is long term. We are well aware that Humanitarian aid is short term, so how do we approach the next in the snowball of crises bound to follow in terms of Healthcare, Education, Agriculture, Economic rejuvenation and Behavioral impact? How do we make sure impact plays out on ground and not just as a piece of conceptual art ?
Shout out to the highly skilled individuals out there, in India or abroad, who think they can play a part in imagining alternate solutions, please feel free to mail us directly on our page or any of the social media channels, and here’s where you can contribute, last 2 days of this fundraiser cycle, help us spread the word : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
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UPDATE 19 : JUNE 13, 2020
Thank you, Alain Weber, for your contribution to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the Thar desert, Rajasthan, in the midst of the #covid19 pandemic and the resulting humanitarian crisis of the marginalised. We send you a murmur of sheep, good to have you with us.
Alain Weber has been dedicated to present traditional and World Music heritage through many forms - constantly defending world traditional heritage through the most important international festivals, musical productions and recordings, a journey spanning 4 decades.
Alain's musical landscapes feature in the gorgeous Latcho Drom (1993), by Tony Gatlif. Our villages in Rajasthan form the base of the musical journey from Western Rajasthan to Spain in the narrative.
Alain is currently the Artistic Director at Fez Sacred and World Music Festival, MOROCCO ; Sacred World Spirit Festival, Jodhpur & Nagaur, INDIA ; Les Orientales Festival of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, FRANCE ; Musicas Segradas of Evora Festival, PORTUGAL ; Kamandjâti Sacred Festival, Jerusalem, PALESTINE.
Alain Weber has been dedicated to present traditional and World Music heritage through many forms - constantly defending world traditional heritage through the most important international festivals, musical productions and recordings, a journey spanning 4 decades.
Alain's musical landscapes feature in the gorgeous Latcho Drom (1993), by Tony Gatlif. Our villages in Rajasthan form the base of the musical journey from Western Rajasthan to Spain in the narrative.
Alain is currently the Artistic Director at Fez Sacred and World Music Festival, MOROCCO ; Sacred World Spirit Festival, Jodhpur & Nagaur, INDIA ; Les Orientales Festival of Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, FRANCE ; Musicas Segradas of Evora Festival, PORTUGAL ; Kamandjâti Sacred Festival, Jerusalem, PALESTINE.
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UPDATE 18 : JUNE 12, 2020
Dear ‘Community of believers’, thank you so much for your contribution and your mind-blowing message :
‘We have raised money over the last few weeks by one of us doing tarot readings for all those in need of guidance. The money raised is being shared with those in need. We hope this small amount can help a family of artists in these tough times. God bless all of you involved! We shall overcome.’
Messages from the universe, like these, are exactly why I enjoy this whole business of living. Is this why people sing in the first place? Thank you for the alchemy. The Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities stand right with you in solidarity and spirit.
#ifyouwereasong
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Arjuna, thank you for giving C$ 100 to the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities in the Thar desert. Last 3 days for this fundraiser to end a cycle here and too many messages still left to post.
We started this campaign on April 3, 2020, to safeguard the food security of folk musicians in a small corner of the Rajasthani desert, 1083 individuals in all. After the countrywide lockdown was enforced within 4 hours of announcement, all factories, roadways, markets and agricultural activities shut in the villages, and an economic meltdown quickly followed. In both villages, we discovered a non existent health care system, a broken water distribution system and we discovered hunger. Then there was an attack by locusts, and as of today, Jun 12, 2020, our concerns include the food security of the animals of the region as well, sheep, camels and horses, heard the old rhyme about the ships of the desert?
The information gap between rural and urban India is stunning. But you can’t create a broadcast channel or do a KT in the middle of utter pandemonium, quite like how the Kerala Govt. says you can’t just pop up a healthcare system in the middle of a pandemic. You need to have built the groundwork over years. The total absence of intervention in the form of relief by the GOI has convinced me that they have no idea what’s going down or any idea of how to fix it. In fact, in our villages, predictions are that the situation will go way worse by the end of July, once the monsoon kicks to life in the desert.
Posting an excerpt from a report published by the Desert Resource Centre, Rajasthan on how the locusts currently hold Thar desert dwellers at ransom, I hope the news filters through into the mainstream sooner than later.
‘Swarms of locusts have devoured plantations and are threatening the fodder security of the region. Dungar Ram Raika, a farmer, says, “The locusts have destroyed our plantations of kair, phog, and khejri. The remaining plants are not enough for large animals such as camels and we do not have enough money to procure dry fodder from the market. The government should think of launching drought relief measures to extend forage support to herders."
"The branches and leaves of the kair plant serve as a good source of green fodder and are preferred by camels and small ruminants. They can be seen growing on farm boundaries, orans (sacred forests), gochars (grazing lands), and wastelands throughout the region. As a slow-growing species, the locust attack could severely impact the growth of kair for this rabi (winter) cropping season.’
( https://idronline.org/ground-up-stories/trial-by-locusts/ )
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UPDATE 16 : MAY 27, 2020
Temperatures in the Thar desert, Rajasthan crossed 50 degrees yesterday. India is currently the hottest place in the world, Rajasthan features thrice in the same list.
If that was difficult to breathe through, the neighbourhood of the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities is also under attack by an army of locusts, said to be 2 km wide and 2km long, a crore locusts in the swarm according to farmers, they call them the 'tiddi dal', literally, the army of locusts. The locusts have been devouring fields with standing kharif crop through the night. Farmers have been awake since May 23rd trying to save what’s left, and yesterday there was another attack. A swarm of locusts spread across an area of one square kilometre can eat as much food as 35,000 people in one day. They have already caused severe damage, adding to the covid-19 lockdown obstacles.
We have received no help by way of an EMERGENCY relief fund over the last 2 months, there has been no intervention to alleviate the horrendous effects of the heatwave and locust swarm attack. Rural journalism is dead. Over the coming days we will get into the minutae of details. We bank on channels such as these to spread the word ahead, the Central Govt. Of India is dead. Enable us further by spreading the word and contributing here on this page, and please feel free to mail in queries at gatika108@protonmail.com
I want to thank these SIX women for stepping onto our frontline, Gayatri Kodikal, Flavia, Lucie, Pitchaya, Krista and Priyanka Kodikal.
Deep gratitude to you.
If that was difficult to breathe through, the neighbourhood of the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities is also under attack by an army of locusts, said to be 2 km wide and 2km long, a crore locusts in the swarm according to farmers, they call them the 'tiddi dal', literally, the army of locusts. The locusts have been devouring fields with standing kharif crop through the night. Farmers have been awake since May 23rd trying to save what’s left, and yesterday there was another attack. A swarm of locusts spread across an area of one square kilometre can eat as much food as 35,000 people in one day. They have already caused severe damage, adding to the covid-19 lockdown obstacles.
We have received no help by way of an EMERGENCY relief fund over the last 2 months, there has been no intervention to alleviate the horrendous effects of the heatwave and locust swarm attack. Rural journalism is dead. Over the coming days we will get into the minutae of details. We bank on channels such as these to spread the word ahead, the Central Govt. Of India is dead. Enable us further by spreading the word and contributing here on this page, and please feel free to mail in queries at gatika108@protonmail.com
I want to thank these SIX women for stepping onto our frontline, Gayatri Kodikal, Flavia, Lucie, Pitchaya, Krista and Priyanka Kodikal.
Deep gratitude to you.
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UPDATE 14 : April 28, 2020We really do believe in smaller groups making big changes. You don't have to be a social worker or anything, to engage with people who're suffering.
Sometimes the universe talks back to you, when you talk to it.
I guess in between all the music and ground updates, one doesn't realise how remote these villages really are. Below is an aerial view of the land the Sarangiya Langa live in. And its peak summer now in the Thar Desert.
Thank you Anonymous (of the INR 4000), you've just ensured a Sarangiya Langa folk musician family has food security for a month. We wish the same happens to you, in this life time.
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UPDATE 13 : April 28, 2020
Thank you Swarnim Shankar for your contribution towards the Sarangiya Langa folk musician communities. I hope you are well, wherever you are, in these challenging times.
It is impossible for a lockdown in totality for women in the desert. They collect firewood, tend to animals, collect fodder, work fields, bathe and feed children, cook, clean and walk long distance for washing clothes and collecting water for the house. Water supply is once a week, at no fixed time. In Rajasthan, in peak summer, the water levels go especially low. I saw video reports on ground from community correspondents in the neighborhood and its the same story, no lockdown can keep people away from waiting for water. I hope, men and women can remember to stay kind to each other, under such pressure.
It is impossible for a lockdown in totality for women in the desert. They collect firewood, tend to animals, collect fodder, work fields, bathe and feed children, cook, clean and walk long distance for washing clothes and collecting water for the house. Water supply is once a week, at no fixed time. In Rajasthan, in peak summer, the water levels go especially low. I saw video reports on ground from community correspondents in the neighborhood and its the same story, no lockdown can keep people away from waiting for water. I hope, men and women can remember to stay kind to each other, under such pressure.
With the covid-19 lockdown, these women have to contend with no food security, low fodder supply, unemployed husbands, no money for emergencies, and always at-home unschooled children. We are all definitely not on the same boat.
We can't move without you. Do consider contributing towards food security for the Sarangiya Langas, folk musician communities hit by the covid-19 lockdown in remote Rajasthan.
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UPDATE 12 : April 26, 2020
In the last broadcast, you heard the heard the sound of two algojas playing :
The algoja is an aerophone, double end-blown flutes in which one instrument provides a drone, while the other provides the melody. Both flutes are played simultaneously by one player, using circular breathing, so there are no gaps.
Now, we stumble into a jam session between two master Sarangiya Langa algozha musicians, a conversation about counts in the middle of the afternoon, especially on the beat of the 6. A completely non-traditional, impromptu performance with only melody flutes playing, no subtitles needed. Enjoy.
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UPDATE 11 : April 26, 2020
Thank you, Ninad Shah and Anonymous ( of the AU$ 25 ) for your contributions. Tune in at 8 pm (IST) today, for a conversation between two master Sarangiya Langa musicians.
I've put you both up on a wall in the Langa village. These musicians are quite skilled at natural building as well, mud floors makes it cooler in the summers, warmer in the winters. Because of its different levels, this space also works out as an amphitheatre for immediate performances, with everyone sitting in a circle in front of it. This would be a piece of conceptual art, were it to be erected somewhere in urban India!
Back at the village, we have taken a unanimous decision to wait till we have a supply pack ready for everyone in our head count. Each family needs a pack of at least INR 4000/month to be able to tide through a lockdown in this blazing heat.
It has been a month since urban India has been under a lockdown, but in the village, we'd say lockdown has just about started. Very few people are venturing outside, including our teams on ground, two little kids fell ill with fever yesterday, it has created a bit of caution in the neighborhood.
Borders to cities are blocked, since Rajasthan's covid-19 count is only rising, today it is at 2141, at the 4th place amongst the states of India. Apart from asking folk musicians to send in their self-made quarantine videos of song (so they might be broadcast on TV), the Govt. of Rajasthan has made NO stimulus package distribution in the villages, as of a MONTH.
Stimulus packages are still being distributed only among city dwellers. What about the majority of Indians, who live in villages(!) in the midst of a total supply chain breakdown and restricted movement? Why have the food grain depots not been opened. India must feed India.
We don't want to see hunger if we can help it, supplies are at a low.
Please help us spread the word.
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UPDATE 10 : April 24, 2020
Happy to hear many voices standing for craftspeople all across India, today!
The Sarangiya Langa are the last master instrument - makers of the sarangi and the algozha. Instrument crafting involves years of mastery of wood carving, leather tanning and to top that, a keen sense of sound for tuning. It even involves jewellery making, metal work.
The Sarangiya Langa are the last master instrument - makers of the sarangi and the algozha. Instrument crafting involves years of mastery of wood carving, leather tanning and to top that, a keen sense of sound for tuning. It even involves jewellery making, metal work.
The Langa form a musical community unique to an exceptional degree since they have their own kind of instruments, their own repertoire, a special style of singing & they keep their instrument-craft in tune to the tenor of their forefathers. The instruments known to be made and played by the Langa are the sarangi, murli, surinda, surnai, algoja, narh and morchhang.
They have always been completely #handmadeinindia
Thank you all who have supported us so far. Tagged you today, Rohit Das, Hannah O'Flynn, Anonymous (of the €25), Yen Noh, Canan Batur and Duruo, the Red Dot's in solidarity with millions of craftspeople all across India today, thank you for keeping our handcrafted sarangis alive, and cared for! Shout out if you can see me, here! Else, there will be mail.
We have a long way to go still, please allow us to move fast. The worst part about craftsmen is that they never complain. Every contribution brings us closer to deliver supplies to the Sarangiya Langa villages, so they do not have to venture out looking for food and sanitation in the midst of the pandemic’s outbreak : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
#handmadeinindia #creativeeconomy #creativeindustries #sustainablefutures #futureishandmadeinindia
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UPDATE 9 : April 22, 2020
This tune is an ode to old school ethnomusicologists like K, solely responsible for riding into the deserts in search of musicians, armed with a map, a few friends and a Nagara recorder, on camel back. It is because of him and a few others, that voices long gone have been recorded, mapped and copyright published, all Indian classical music derives its roots from folk regimen. It must have been quite a solitary path.
Happy to release the second tune on the Sarangiya Langa RADIO : Hoongar, a tune based on the rhythm of a walking camel : ) . Please feel welcome to share ahead our music!
Support the SARANGIYA LANGA folk music village communities hit by the covid-19 lockdown in remote Rajasthan : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
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UPDATE 8 : April 18, 2020
Today is 'World Heritage Day', sounds funny when heritage is taking such a beating in reality, huh? The UN tags remote traditional folk musicians as protectors of Intangible Cultural Heritage, codename ICH. These are the people who safekeep the creation stories which need the most retelling, lyrics of songs describe the use of a tree, filling wells, about farming in the desert, secrets about animals. Before writing, there was song.
I cannot put on blinkers to the grim realities these communities face in current times. I cannot agree more with US Rep. NYC, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, voicing similar thoughts at the other end of the world, 'Guaranteeing healthcare to these people is not about giving charity, it effects all of us. Why? Because the chronic toll of redlining, environmental racism, wealth gap, etc. ARE underlying health conditions.' Ditto, here.
A big shout out to the people who have pitched in Rs 500, 10€, 20£ all across, you help us inch closer to start navigating through the horrendous food black market which has emerged in the rural outback. Huge concerns related to water and grain supplies right now. Inescapable dark realities meeting great walls of indifference.
I have attached a video of defunct water supply systems and a dry heritage well below, with a Sarangiya Langa musician taking you through. Have a look at a video made by them here on this link : The old well runs dry.
Today is 'World Heritage Day', sounds funny when heritage is taking such a beating in reality, huh? The UN tags remote traditional folk musicians as protectors of Intangible Cultural Heritage, codename ICH. These are the people who safekeep the creation stories which need the most retelling, lyrics of songs describe the use of a tree, filling wells, about farming in the desert, secrets about animals. Before writing, there was song.
I cannot put on blinkers to the grim realities these communities face in current times. I cannot agree more with US Rep. NYC, Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, voicing similar thoughts at the other end of the world, 'Guaranteeing healthcare to these people is not about giving charity, it effects all of us. Why? Because the chronic toll of redlining, environmental racism, wealth gap, etc. ARE underlying health conditions.' Ditto, here.
A big shout out to the people who have pitched in Rs 500, 10€, 20£ all across, you help us inch closer to start navigating through the horrendous food black market which has emerged in the rural outback. Huge concerns related to water and grain supplies right now. Inescapable dark realities meeting great walls of indifference.
I have attached a video of defunct water supply systems and a dry heritage well below, with a Sarangiya Langa musician taking you through. Have a look at a video made by them here on this link : The old well runs dry.
P. Sainath, Jean Drèze and Amartya Sen are urging a wake up call. Every voice counts, we need to be able to wash hands, help us pass on the message : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
#worldheritageday
#intangibleculturalheritage
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UPDATE 7 : Apr 16, 2020
Thank you for your generosity, Anonymous. Each written message is being passed on to the village through a voice recording as well, for those who cannot read your words online. They're watching the news and have heard of all the suffering abroad. They cannot believe foreign countries are running out of medical equipment and shelter for the poor, especially the boys who have traveled abroad to sing before. All of the traditional patrons of the Sarangiya Langa in the village have lost employment, this is also unbelievable for them, nobody has seen a wipe-out of this scale.
We have started inspecting water sources around the village. I checked up on the old well I had seen between the villages, an old relic of a piece with stone carvings and inscriptions still standing in places, they tell me it has run dry now. The villagers switched to a government water supply line a year back, but now they only get water once a week. Can't keep washing hands if you don't have running water now, can you?
I have started nudging the idea of figuring out how to get the old well recharged and operational, there must be some old well diggers around. The Langa musicians in the A-Team think I'm nuts. But let's see where we go with the search for a well fixer, they're going to keep a lookout. Summer is here. April is the cruelest month. We cannot afford a wonky water service in the middle of the desert, with this pandemic bouncing around.
Help us birds sing. We made an appearance on Twitter today at @milanntj.
We've also gone Live now on Instagram @milanntj and @gatika108
We have started inspecting water sources around the village. I checked up on the old well I had seen between the villages, an old relic of a piece with stone carvings and inscriptions still standing in places, they tell me it has run dry now. The villagers switched to a government water supply line a year back, but now they only get water once a week. Can't keep washing hands if you don't have running water now, can you?
I have started nudging the idea of figuring out how to get the old well recharged and operational, there must be some old well diggers around. The Langa musicians in the A-Team think I'm nuts. But let's see where we go with the search for a well fixer, they're going to keep a lookout. Summer is here. April is the cruelest month. We cannot afford a wonky water service in the middle of the desert, with this pandemic bouncing around.
Help us birds sing. We made an appearance on Twitter today at @milanntj.
We've also gone Live now on Instagram @milanntj and @gatika108
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UPDATE 6 : Apr 15, 2020
The last 2 days have been absolutely critical. Two organised teams visited every house, in both villages, and listed down family names, no. of men, women, girls and boys. The survey also marked houses with members having respiratory or heart related diseases, with kidney stones or diabetes.
Our door-to-door survey involved a briefing about covid-19, sanitation and washing, along with special illustrated instructions for pregnant women. The details were explained through print outs at every house, we also dropped off mask tailoring patterns at both villages.
Most of the villagers had no awareness about the pandemic, there have been NO government-led survey teams which have reached them. We have a long journey ahead, we have no government-led social welfare machinery in place to take care of every last person. There is no point in palming off the blame, at this point. We do not have enough funds yet to start an equal distribution, but the good thing is, the hard work and co ordination required to conduct the survey remotely, brought us all closer together, it is blazing hot these days in the desert. And it's great we're done with all unrequired contact!
The Sarangiya Langas on our Survey Team also ended up listing the Shehnaiya Langas in their list, distant musician cousins from the same village who play the shehnai, a wind instrument often played in Indian weddings. They're naturally looking out for all their neighbours, this is very inspiring!
Play a part in reaching every voice. Support the Sarangiya Langa folk music communities hit by the covid-19 Lockdown in remote Rajasthan, 6 updates up on our page now : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
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UPDATE 5 : Apr 12, 2020
The girl squad is the gift that Keeps giving, brilliant work with patterns. Totally bowled over by the videos they have started making on their own, obviously they love the design. You can put a mask on a Langa, but you can't stop him from singing and dancing. Hahaha! Our masks made their debut on TikTok, the word is spreading fast. Fantastic.
42 masks made as of last evening, in 4 sizes for men, women, teenagers and little children, and we're still rolling.
Thank you so much for your love. They're reading each of your messages on the page. Tell others to help us support the Sarangiya Langa folk music communities hit by the covid-19 Lockdown in remote Rajasthan : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
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UPDATE 4 : Apr 11, 2020
And we’ve got our girl squad on the go!
Masks are being made on the double in the village as of today, nobody's waiting anymore for supplies.
Been a couple of days now trying to get someone to connect me with two girls I’d met 4 years ago, on the back of video grabs of their faces, I knew one of them could stitch and one went to school. Got to see their faces again today!
They sat with me through mask-making & pattern demonstration over video call, while I ran them through instructions and precautions on my computer screen. Thank god for the craftspeople in the village. Life moves in circles.
Magic is real. Spread the word.
Support the Sarangiya Langa folk music communities hit by the covid-19 Lockdown in remote Rajasthan, give them a shout here : milaap.org/fundraisers/support-mehrudin-langa
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UPDATE 3 : Apr 10, 2020
Rajasthan’s covid-19 cases have started surging up! 80 new positive cases emerged in a single day, that's yesterday, including a 4 year old child, a total of 463 cases according to local newspapers. National newspapers are running the number at 383, they’re either late or numbers have started getting fudged, who knows. A 76 year old man died in the nearest city. A doctor from Jodhpur who was engaged in a door-to-door survey also tested positive.
No government services have reached the Sarangiya Langa villages in Barmer, either with rations OR awareness campaigns OR medical supplies for the Primary Health Centres. ZERO testing. Doctors are wearing single layer cloth masks made at home in the village. We now have Five small teams with task lists in the village, the team spreading Awareness has started moving door to door on the ground.
A big shout out to Natalie Lycops for providing the face mask tailoring patterns, instructions and literature in Hindi. A big holler to Padmini Ray Murray, for the videos, GIFs and informative heath posters in Hindi, they have been absolutely invaluable in speedening up communication in the village amongst women and the illiterate, thank you Team Design Beku.
Every voice in this village is irreplaceable, heirlooms we don’t even know how to start listening to yet. I have started a Sarangiya Langa Radio on vimeo for the tunes now, so you may get to know the harsh realities better, with some music to keep company. Thank you so much for your kindness so far. We cannot start moving without you, help spread the word.
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UPDATE 2 : Apr 7, 2020
We are on standby to start sending supplies to the Sarangiya Langa folk music communities hit by the COVID-19 lockdown in remote Rajasthan, supply chains are strained since the nearest food grain depot is 5 hours away!
The Sarangiya Langa are oral historians in lyric and song, each tune passed down from generation to generation of musicians, these melodies were never meant to be kept secrets. Their music describes the land they come from, songs of love, isolation and the magical turning of seasons.
The Sarangiya Langa are oral historians in lyric and song, each tune passed down from generation to generation of musicians, these melodies were never meant to be kept secrets. Their music describes the land they come from, songs of love, isolation and the magical turning of seasons.
This song is for ALL the 21 supporters who have joined our journey this far, we will write back to all of you, one by one, thank you so much for your solidarity. You can see for yourself the scale of the land our musicians ride through everyday in Rajasthan! Measuring distance now, with the first line from a song sung to the princess Soubhi, of times long gone, ‘Soubh, don’t dress your hair, and go in front of the moon…. ’
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In the Dark Times. Will there also be singing? Yes, there will be singing.
Plug in them headphones & go fullscreen HD.
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UPDATE 1 : Apr 6, 2020
Friends far and wide, thank you so much for the contributions so far!
Yesterday was a busy day of co ordination with the Sarangiya Langa in the village. We had a video call together with everyone barely fitting into the same frame. It was very important to talk to them as a collective, as worries are high. We have identified roles for each person in our 8 member team. We have finalised a list of food materials ( like wheat, rice, salt, sugar, tea, chillies, masala powders, candles, kerosene, petrol and animal fodder (!). We have added articles of sanitation like washing and bathing soap, home made sanitiser and material for making masks.
Most importantly, we have started listing the families in the order of urgent needs. The ones needing the most help, feature first in our list. A big shout to family and friends who have helped spread the word. There is an urgency in procuring supplies and we have a long way to go, every mite counts.
