Jaipur (Rajasthan) [India], April 20: Today, Rahis Bharti and his Dhoad Band is a renowned name in Rajasthani folk music across the world. Since childhood, Bharti had a great liking for the folk music of Rajasthan as it was in his blood due to his family being in music for seven generations. Despite being born into a poor family, he had dreamt big to introduce Rajasthani folk music to the entire world and today his dream has translated into a proud success story. He has struggled a lot to make the people of the world know about the culture and tradition of India and Rajasthan.
Hailing from Dhod village in Sikar district of Rajasthan, Bharti 22 years ago went to Corsica in France and set up his band named ‘Dhoad’. He took the Rajasthani folk music across the world single-handedly and also gave the opportunity to hundreds of local artists from small villages in Rajasthan on international platforms.
His journey from a small village of Rajasthan to the international platform impressed a Prix Renaudot winner French author Martine Le Coz and she wrote a book on Bharti’s life titled ‘Le Coeur Battant Du Rajasthan-Rahis Bharti & Dhoad’ (Heartbeat of Rajasthan – Rahis Bharti & Dhoad). The book will be released in the Paris Book Fair to be organised from April 21 to 24. India will be the guest of honour at this book fair known as Festival du Livre de Paris on the occasion of its 75th anniversary of independence.
It is to be mentioned that French President Emmanuel Macron during his visit to Delhi in 2018 met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Noting the importance of literature in the promotion of friendly relations between the two countries, the leaders welcomed the participation of India as a Guest of Honour in 42nd edition of French Book Fair in the year 2020, but due to the corona pandemic this fair is now organised from April 21 to 24, 2022. Reciprocally, France will participate as a Guest of Honour in the New Delhi World Book Fair.
Bharti and his band Dhoad have been also invited to perform at the inauguration of the book fair on April 21 under the high patronage of Embassy of India in France in which the Indian Ambassador to France Jawed Ashraf and other dignitaries will be present.
National Book Trust Chairman Prof Govind Prasad Sharma will release the book ‘Heartbeat of Rajasthan – Rahis Bharti & Dhoad’ at the Paris Book Fair on April 23 and author Martine Le Coz will also be present. The book carries messages from Governor of Rajasthan Kalraj Mishra, Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot, Rajasthan Foundation Commissioner Dheeraj Srivastava, famous French rock singer Matthieu Chedid, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) President and Member of Parliament Rajya Sabha Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe and many others.
Martine Le Coz said, “Meeting Rahis Bharti and his group Dhoad was another way to be connected with a very old and generous Indian tradition.”
The 180-page book reflects the culture and art of Rajasthan, the life of Bharti, how he created the empire as a musician, created cultural bridges between Rajasthan and the world, all the success stories along with beautiful monuments, palaces of the Desert State from India. He has also been conferred with the award for Cultural Ambassador by Conseil International De La Danse, CID-UNESCO, Ashiya Section Japan in Tokyo in 2019 for his outstanding contribution in building bridges of friendship between countries through dance and music.
Bharti said, “I feel very elated and happy about the release of a book on me and my band. My aim was to introduce the dance forms of Rajasthan through the local artists on the international platform and get them recognition. I want to preserve the traditional folk music and popularise it worldwide.”
Bharti born in a poor, simple and traditional family has contributed a lot to the field of folk music and also in empowering the local artists. It is because of the vision and mission of Bharti that Rajasthani music became very popular and is liked by millions of people around the world.
In the last 22 years, Bharti and his band have performed in more than 2500 concerts and shows in over 120 countries. He has provided an international platform to more than 700 local artists from Rajasthan and empowered them.
Vaishnavi Prakash
