5:30 AM to 7:30 AM
Jaswant Thada
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass/ J RIFF dawns pass Rs. 400/-

Merlin D’Souza, ft. Chintan Katti, Aniruddha Shirke, Avadhoot Phadke and Ruby Abley
Merlin D’Souza is one of India’s leading female musicians, composers and pianists, widely celebrated for her work spanning Bollywood music, independent albums, theatre, and live performances across the globe. Equally fluent in western music and jazz, her true forte is the piano. Merlin’s soul symphony brings that mastery to Jodhpur RIFF this year in a fluid, mellifluous blend of the instruments and sounds of the world, weaving a unique tapestry across timeless original compositions. She will be joined on stage by the young maestros Chintan Katti – one of the most proficient young sitar players in the country, Avadhoot Phadke and his superb accompaniment on the flute, and Aniruddha Shirke’s magic on tabla, pakhawaj and ethnic percussion. Merlin will also be joined on stage by Jodhpur RIFF artist in residence, genre-agnostic improviser and saxophonist Ruby Abley.

9.00 AM to 10.30 AM
Chokelao Bagh
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Manipuri folk dances with Mangka Mayanglambam
An incredible opportunity to learn the basics of the vibrant Meitei folk dance of Manipur with dancer, musician, and educator Mangka Mayanglambam. One of the few women to master the pena– the traditional single-stringed lute historically played predominantly by men, Mangka’s practice brings together music, movement, storytelling and dance, drawing deeply from the folklore and mythology of Meitei culture. Supported by M.Mangangsana, Marjing Mayanglambam, and Elangbam Jayanta, this is a rare opportunity to discover the stories of the Meitei culture embodied through movement and dance.

Jodhpur RIFF presents rustic dance bootcamps, facilitated by noted practitioners and trainers. Short, intense, and rigorous, these camps will give participants an experiential insight into the movements and practice of traditional dance forms.
Please Note: This is the one-and-only, stand-alone session of this form.
Please wear/ bring appropriate and comfortable clothing that allows free movement such as T-shirts, long/ loose shirts or blouses, tights, loose track or harem pants or long skirts.
Do carry your own rehydration and drying material. Be prepared to sweat! It is a boot camp!!

09:45 AM to 5:00 PM
Venues throughout the Mehrangarh Museum
Museum Entry Ticket/ Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Discover the myriad hues of the traditional dance forms of Rajasthan, reflecting its distinctive root traditions, some popular and some rare, including: Behrupiya, Garasia dance, Chari dance, Dandiya Gair and the captivating vocals of Young Langa and Manganiyar Musicians!

11:00 AM to 1:30 PM
Chokelao Bagh
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Folk Futures
Jodhpur RIFF brings together some of the most extraordinary artist-educators from the festival line-up for an open conversation about what it means to carry on a living tradition – to teach and practice as roots musicians, while also building a future for the next generation of musicians. Joining in conversation are masters from the Langa and Manganiyar communities of Rajasthan who are teachers of the youngest generation of Rajasthan’s folk musicians under the aegis of the Mehrangarh Museum Music Projects’ Folk Futures programme. Joining them from across the world are DOBBY– Australian rapper and educator whose own work is rooted in the living traditions of his Murrawarri and Ngemba lineage; Esteban Perez with Camila and Silvio whose life’s work has been reviving ancient singing treasures of Chile; Ayesha Vasdev – founder of the independent folk music conservatory Sangeetcar with Chanan Khan Manganiyar – among the last remaining players of the surmandal who has singlehandedly kept this rare instrument alive, and Mangka Mayanglambam – folk musician, dancer and one of the few remaining players of the Manipuri pena, who has spent her life teaching and researching on traditional Manipuri instruments, with Marjing Mayanglambam. This session will be moderated by Divya Bhatia.

Jodhpur RIFF s interactive session series In Residence gives the audience a rare opportunity to meet fascinating artists from various root traditions. The sessions encourage audience members to engage and discuss challenges, forms and traditional practice through performances, lecture-demonstrations and facilitated conversations. As more of Rajasthan and India s rich traditional cultural heritage disappears, Jodhpur RIFF puts the spotlight on some of its remarkable music forms and traditions (some nearing extinction) and opens dialogue to surface and explore how these challenges could be addressed.

5:00 PM to 6:15 PM
Jaswant Thada
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass/ Moonrise Pass Rs 600/-

Ambi Subramaniam ft. Pratik Shristava, Ojas Adhiya and Akshay Ananthapadmanabham
Led by Ambi Subramaniam, Jodhpur RIFF presents India’s great classical music traditions – Carnatic & Hindustani together in a rarely seen seamless onstage dialogue. A Carnatic violinist of extraordinary virtuosity, Ambi was trained by his father, the legendary Dr. L. Subramaniam. Ambi has taken the carnatic violin to stages across the world, collaborating with artists across genres and traditions, and built a reputation as one of the most versatile and adventurous young voices in Indian classical music today. Joining Ambi’s Carnatic prowess onstage is Pratik Shrivastava on the sarod – an instrument of meditative depth and lyrical beauty, and in Pratik’s hands, shaped by the rigour of the Maihar gharana and his natural sensitivity to cross-genre collaboration. Grounding this conversation’s rhythm are two formidable percussionists – the amazing Ojas Adhiya on the tabla, a recipient of the Ustad Bismillah Khan Puraskar, and the virtuoso, Sangeet Natak Academy Yuva Puraskar awardee Akshay Anathapadmanabhan on the mridangam.

6:45 PM onwards
Zenana Courtyard
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

Sindhi Sarangi Special
Musicians of the Langa community of western Rajasthan have, for centuries, been historians, poets, storytellers, musicians and genealogists. At the heart of their music is the sindhi sarangi, a most unusual, handmade traditional instrument unique to the Sarangiya Langa community. The Sindhi Sarangi was built to follow the human voice so closely that it could be mistaken for one. With up to 28 strings, and a playing technique unique to the Langa tradition- using the cuticle and the back of the finger underneath, it produces a sound that has become the identity of the Langa community.
Today, it is an extremely rare instrument, with few practicing musicians, and fewer makers left. In honor of this extraordinary instrument, Jodhpur RIFF presents some of the best sindhi sarangi players of their generation.

The Book of Queens (Malekeh nâmeh in Persian)A celebration of female figures from Europe, India and Iran: heroines, warriors, saints, mystics, poets and composers, from medieval times to the present day… from Malek Khatoom and Rabea Balkhi to Hildegard of Bingen and Barbara Strozzi, from Gordafarid to Forough Farrokhzad, from Mirabai and Lal Ded to Akka Mahadevi, their voices transcend centuries to speak of love in all its forms: carnal, mystical, spiritual, forbidden, imagined, or sacrificial.
Artistically led by Camille Bordet, a Persian-speaking opera singer, this project explores the often historically marginalised place of women within artistic and cultural heritage. Originally thought as an Iranian-European dialogue, it has now expanded to include an Indian voice, transforming “The Book of Queens” into a space of encounter between three worlds where scholarly traditions, oral transmission, poetry, spirituality, and contemporary creation intersect. The Book of Queens is a poetic and musical journey across time and culture — an invitation to let forgotten female voices resonate and to weave new forms of dialogue between India, Iran, and Europe.
The music emerges from the encounter between the artists themselves: musicians rooted in written classical traditions as well as oral transmission and singers and instrumentalists whose languages, cultures, and artistic practices differ. Built around collective creation, the project combines improvisation, reinterpretation of ancient repertoire, and original composition. Each artist brings their own story, sensitivity, and music to this shared work.
Joining Camille Bordet on The Book of Queens are: Hamin Honari – Iranian-Canadian hand drummer and specialist on the Persian tombak and daf; renowned Canadian string instrumentalist Madeleine Owen on lutes & historical guitars, Saeed Kamjoo on the Persian kamanche; Maryam Tazhdeh on the tar; the accomplished Hindustani vocalist Smita Bellur, among India’s first female Hindustani vocalists to be accepted into a lineage of traditional Qawaals who draws from the spiritual poetry of the subcontinent; young kamaicha maestro Kode Khan Manganiyar from the heartland of Rajasthan, the Thar desert.

Co-commissioned and co-produced by Jodhpur RIFF, “The Book of Queens” is the festival’s tribute to the women of Marwar and their role in the history of Rajasthan.
This is the Book of Queens’ premiere appearance in India.

Emilia Lajunen ft. Asin Khan Langa
Emilia Lajunen is one of the most captivating voices in contemporary folk, her expertise being the keyed ancient five-string fiddle- Biancospino, Kontrabasharpa, and their most modern variation- the 16 stringed Nyckelharpa. Her music is earthy, hypnotic, and full of emotion, drawing listeners into a landscape where the old stories still know how to sing. This is perhaps why she’s been famously described as playing “like a village full of haunted fiddlers.”
This year marks her third appearance at Jodhpur RIFF, and it comes with a glimpse into Emilia’s first Finnish-Rajasthani Folk project in collaboration with the young maestro Asin Khan Langa on the Sindhi Sarangi. A traditional instrument unique to the Sarangiya Langa community of western Rajasthan, it is considered to be the only string instrument in the world having a sound quality that comes closest to the human voice. A collaboration driven by curiosity and a shared love for strings, Sadiq Khan and Zakir Khan Langa.

This collaboration is a Jodhpur RIFF commission

Puuluup
There are bands that cross borders, and then there is Puuluup – with their music that has made borders entirely irrelevant. This nu-folk duo, Ramo Teder and Marko Veisson, return to the Jodhpur RIFF stage, oscillating on the border of tradition and modern music styles, flirting with world music, underground and pop. At the heart of the music Puuluup brings to Jodhpur RIFF is the hiiu kannel or the taal harpa – an ancient bowed lyre revived from the edges of extinction, run through effect blocks and loopers, layering electronically amplified echoes, knocks and scrapes over the soft hiss of its strings. What results is dance-pulsating grooves and something cinematic and dark – post-folk, neo-zombie, punk-referencing and entirely their own.
Puuluup controls the vibrations of hiiu kannel’s strings through effect blocks and the looper using alternative playing techniques and sound generation options.
Finalists of the Eurovision song contest, the men themselves say modestly about their work: “Our main message in the context of folk music is that, look, you can do all kinds of things with the hiiu kandel, learn the instrument and make your own music.”

10:45 PM onwards
Zenana Courtyard
Full Festival pass/ Day Pass

RIFF Rustle is our largest, impromptu collaboration performance that concludes the festival’s night-time revelries. Every year, the festival appoints a musician as a ‘rustler’, who then rustles up other musicians from the festival to participate in this performance in pairs or quartets or all together.
This year we have two rustlers – Killabeatmaker & DOBBY, supported by Merlin Dsouza. Together, they will gather musicians at the festival to jam with each other while collaborating with other artists including the dhol drummers, khartal and dholak masters and other Rajasthani musicians. Who’s to say what can happen when they all get together!