‘Runalayo’ (meaning ‘beloved’), sung by Bhutta Khan in the Sindhi language, is narrated from the perspective of a woman yearning for her absent lover - ‘the one who speaks to me with so much love’. As in much Sufi poetry, and in Rajasthani folk songs, the aching longing for the inaccessible beloved invokes both earthly and divine love. The piece opens with murmured conversation and birdsong collected by Singh using binaural microphones, during recording sessions in Anokhi Farm, this is followed by an alaap - a wordless vocal introduction to the raag of the piece. This melts into the harmonium’s ostinato, accompanied by popularly used percussion the dholak (twin-headed hand drum) morchang (Jew’s harp) and khartals (castanet-like instruments). Later, listen out for the ebullient sound of the bhapang (single stringed ‘talking-drum’) and vocal interventions by Latif Khan.
The lyrics of this song are attributed to Mirabai (or ‘Meera’), the 16th-century poet saint who loved the Hindu God Lord Krishna so much that it sent her husband mad with rage. In this song, the enraged husband sends his wife deadly gifts like a snake disguised as a necklace and a pitcher of poison disguised as juice. But on each occasion, the power of Mirabai’s faith disarms the gift and she survives each attempted murder. The piece features largely Rajasthani instrumentation, with subtle layers of guitar and bass by Arun Ghosh and David McEwan. Bhutta, Nehru and Safi sing in Marwari, the main local language of Rajasthan.
This song is a panegyric to the eponymous 4x4 vehicle that promises the return of another absent lover, from across the sand dunes. UK Indo-Jazz virtuoso Arun Ghosh adds flourishes of desert wind-like textures on the clarinet. This folk song, which emerged in the 1970s, makes a tongue-in-cheek reference to songs written in praise of the beauty of a horse or camel conveying a loved one home. Like ‘Runalayo’, the implied female narrator yearns for her absent lover, travelling across the land to come home to her.
'Memories of You' is inspired by the late John Singh who, along with his wife Faith Singh, founded the responsible textile company Anokhi. They inspired and supported thousands of artists and creatives through their work in the cultural heritage of Rajasthan. This piece emerged spontaneously between recording sessions at the Anokhi farm in June 2019. It comprises alaap (wordless song) birdsong, and the heart-wrenching sound of the sarangi - the desert violin.
This is the second piece on the album sung in the Sindhi language. Again a Sufi song, the first two minutes of the track feature an acapella invocation to Allah and to Shah Latif, to whom the poetry of this song is attributed. Shah Abdul Latif Bittai - also addressed respectfully as ‘miyan’ - is a famous 18th-century Sindhi poet, often referred to as the national poet of the region of Sindh. This track, set to a minimal traditional Rajasthani instrumental accompaniment, tells the story of Sassi, a woman who will have to cross dangerous and rocky terrain to reach her lover Punnu. Her devotion, which ultimately ends in her death, is a metaphor for the devotee of God who will make any sacrifice in the pursuit of knowledge of God and Truth.
Pir Jalani was a great 12th-century sunni saint (Abdul Qadir Jilani). This song, in the Saraiki language (a variant of Sindhi spoken in southern and western Punjab) tells the story of his journey across Rajasthan, in which he visits various disciples and tests the strength of their devotion in a unique way. When offered food and drink at the homes of his disciples, he explains that he cannot eat until his pet lion has been fed. The trouble is, his lion only eats human flesh, so his hosts would need to sacrifice one of their family members. For a good while, neither saint nor pet are able to satisfy their appetites. Eventually, the pair reach the home of a woman who is prepared to sacrifice her only son. After finishing their respective dinners, Pir Jalani rewards the woman’s extraordinary act of devotion by bringing her son back to life. The second part of the song follows the story of the son, who is on his way to get married. Part of the groom’s marital procession (the ‘bharat’) must take place on water but, on the way, his boat meets with a storm and starts to sink. His mother prays to Pir Jalani, requesting his help saving her son and the rest of the wedding party. The water settles and everyone is saved by the saint’s intervention. The piece opens with a free-metre invocation to Pir Jalani, and moves between lilting instrumental sections by the Rajasthani ensemble and a rousing chorus of voices narrating the stories of travel, trust and devotion.
Banwasi (meaning ‘forest-dweller’) takes us to a great Hindu epic, the Ramayana: ‘the tale of Ram’. The song glimpses an early moment in the story, when Ram is banished to the forest for a 14-year exile, by his regretful father Dashrath's (king of Ayodhya). Ram is joined in his exile by two loyal followers: his brother Lakshman and his wife Sita, though the latter is not mentioned in this song. The poem is written in Hindi, and is attributed to Tulsidas, the great 16th-century poet saint who is renowned for writing down the life of Ram in Awadi and Sanskrit languages. Interlaced with Jason Singh’s field recordings of birdsong, and light-touch accompaniment on harmonium and dholak, Bhutta, Nehru and Safi sing the story in gentle unison.
The final track is a celebratory culmination of praise to the saints, to god and to the power of music across sound worlds. The uplifting metreless solos by Safi, Bhutta and Nehru are carried on a bed of drum and bass, for a dance track that conveys the sound and soul of Rajasthan to dancers across the globe.
