For folk's sake

In Rajasthan's musical communities, forming a band is unconventional. The three-member SAZ is breaking convention in more ways than one, preserving and reimagining folk music along the way

- BY SHUBHANGI SHAH/JODHPUR

It was almost sunset at the Sam dunes near Jaisalmer, where the sand glowed in hues of gold, amber and rose pink.

As light gave way to darkness, sound took the place of sight. You could hear camels grunting, crickets chirping, travellers laughing softly, and cameleers coaxing tourists into taking one last ride before dusk.

Amid this desert symphony floated a familiar melody—a Rajasthani folk song I first heard only a few days ago at the hilltop Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur during the Rajasthan International Folk Festival (RIFF), which completed 18 years recently.

The song was ‘Sundar Gori’ (Pretty Girl)—not an age-old tune but a contemporary composition by the Rajasthani folk trio SAZ, comprising Sadiq Khan, Asin Khan and Zakir Khan of the musical Langa community. That song has garnered more than 8 lakh views on YouTube alone.

In Rajasthan’s musical communities, where every family member practises music and tradition dictates form, a band is unconventional. But what takes tradition further into new territory is composing original music within these deeply rooted styles. And that’s exactly what SAZ—short for Sadiq, Asin and Zakir—is doing, thus preserving and reimagining their heritage at once.

A band is born

Divya Bhatia, festival director of Jodhpur RIFF, first brought the three together for a performance at Yue Opera Town in Shengzhou, China, in 2019. “They came back and told me they wanted to be a band, which was odd, as in Rajasthani folk music, typically there are groups with one person leading and the others transitory,” recalls Bhatia, also the band’s producer. “So I put the condition that all three would be equal. And that I wanted them to learn and grow, so they would have to make new songs, rehearse, record and play with whoever, whenever and wherever.”