One of my favorite genres of music to listen to is Bollywood music, which is the music in Hindi Cinema. Not only am I fascinated by the culture of India but also can’t help loving the upbeat, lively songs. This is why a particular review about another type of music from India caught my eye in the NY Times. On Tuesday, the Manganiyars put on a unique show at the White Light Festival at Lincoln Center. The “White Light” is a new annual show that focuses on music being transcendental, the idea that it has the power to make us realize the greater picture of our lives in terms of spirituality and meaning. The Manganiyars are a specific caste from a region called Rajasthan in northern India known for their folk music.
The show that they put on, which you can watch here, was called “The Manganiyar Seduction” and consisted of 36 men sitting in lit-up boxes stacked in a four by nine formation. Included is traditional singing, instruments such as the kamancha– an ancestor of the violin and the dholak–a hand drum, and also dancing (at about 2:00 in the video above, a dancer arrives in front of the boxes). They even used the lights to liven up the show. If I had known about this type of show sooner, I definitely would have gone; I feel that it is so important to appreciate the arts in all cultures because these forms are the ones that make up the Arts in the melting pot of New York City.
Check out the review here.
