{"id":18524,"date":"2025-09-29T13:42:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:42:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.festivalsfromindia.com\/?p=18524"},"modified":"2025-09-29T13:42:58","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T13:42:58","slug":"jodhpur-riff-festival-cultural-benchmark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.festivalsfromindia.com\/blog\/jodhpur-riff-festival-cultural-benchmark\/","title":{"rendered":"A Festival That Rewrote the Soundscape of Rajasthan","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Every year during Sharad Purnima, Mehrangarh Fort does something it was never designed to do. Built to keep elephants out, the fortress now lets music in,\u00a0 and not just any music. For eighteen years, the Jodhpur RIFF has transformed its ramparts into one of the world\u2019s most magical stages. Under the patronage of HH Gaj Singh II of Marwar-Jodhpur and the leadership of Divya Bhatia, the festival has emerged as one of India\u2019s most admired cultural platforms, blending site, sound, and soul into something that feels both deeply local and unmistakably global.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image credits: Jodhpur RIFF <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The Origins of a Vision<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In 2004, not long after Divya Bhatia had completed an 8-year stint at Mumbai\u2019s Prithvi Theatre as its festival director, an unusual conversation began to take shape. The late John Singh, founder of the Anokhi brand, and his wife Faith, both champions of Rajasthan\u2019s crafts and traditions, approached him to grow their\u00a0 city-wide festival in Jaipur, a global, multi-arts platform where folk music could be experienced as culture in motion, not as tourist wallpaper. A few years later, H.H. Gaj Singh II, the 39th Maharaja of Jodhpur, determined to reposition Mehrangarh Fort as more than a museum and monument, a living stage for the arts, worked with them to create Jodhpur RIFF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF is\u00a0 not the work of one person but a legacy of many. A patron\u2019s vision , a couple\u2019s conviction and ambition, and an artistic director\u2019s curiosity, insight and experience intersected, and that overlap became its strength.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image credits: Kavi Bhansali <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

When Bhatia stepped into Jodhpur RIFF as its festival director in early 2008,\u00a0 he had already worked with traditional musicians for a few years. But Rajasthan was still seen as a postcard: palaces on one side, folk musicians sidelined on the other. \u201cI wasn\u2019t interested in dot-joining,\u201d he recalls. \u201cI wanted to understand the layers, tradition, livelihood, tourism, patronage, and work in a way that reshaped the entire landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This layered approach made the festival bigger than a line-up. For anyone building a festival, the reminder here is that vision is rarely solitary, it\u2019s when different imaginations align that a platform finds its real force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building More Than a Line-Up<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF was never designed to compete on headliners. In fact, Bhatia resisted that pressure entirely. \u201cPeople asked me, \u2018Who\u2019s your headliner?\u2019 I wasn\u2019t chasing celebrities,\u201d he says with a smile. \u201cThe word for me is transmission; between master and apprentice, artist and audience, Jodhpur and the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From the start, this philosophy shaped Jodhpur RIFF\u2019s DNA. Instead of billboards or splashy ads, resources went to artists, sending them to stages like Blue Frog in Mumbai or to festivals like Edinburgh International Festival . The music became the message. \u201cWhy buy an ad,\u201d Bhatia asks, \u201cwhen you can pay a musician to play live and let the art become the advertisement?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That quiet refusal to follow the conventional marketing script gave Jodhpur RIFF its credibility. By staying rooted in values rather than chasing quick profits, the festival built authenticity that audiences could feel. And when people sense that, they don\u2019t just attend once,\u00a0 they return, again and again, as loyal custodians of the art itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image credits: Jodhpur RIFF<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gender, Tradition, and Modernity<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF\u2019s impact is most visible in how it re-centered women within traditions often seen as male domains. Rajasthan\u2019s folk history always had women at its core \u2014 from the epic tellers of Pabuji ka Phad to the custodians of repertoires among the Langas and Manganiyars \u2014 yet modernity pushed them aside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By championing artists like Sumitra and Bhanwari Devi, Jodhpur RIFF strives to restore that balance. \u201cIt was never a \u2018gender agenda,\u2019\u201d Bhatia says. \u201cIt was about making sure women weren\u2019t left behind simply because modern life had erased them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The power of that choice lies in its subtlety. Festivals earn authenticity not through spectacle but through the details audiences feel. It\u2019s never about grand campaigns or glittering pitches, but the small, thoughtful touches. When you keep an eye on those granular details, your festival shines effortlessly,\u00a0 and audiences always notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mehrangarh: Constraint and Catalyst<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

With no local engineers in the early years, Bhatia brought in technical teams from Delhi and Jaipur while gradually nurturing a homegrown crew of 30\u201340 production professionals from Jodhpur itself. \u201cNo one comes perfect for the job,\u201d he reflects. \u201cThey were just a group of passionate people who came together, learned on the go, and built something. When you have curiosity and the will to learn, that\u2019s all it really takes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m not site-specific,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m site-conscientious. The local matters \u2014 the artists, the setting, the community. Mehrangarh is not just a backdrop; it shapes the art itself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fort and the festival also reshaped Jodhpur. Once a half-day stopover, the city became a cultural destination. \u201cBack then, everyone asked me, why Jodhpur? Why folk?\u201d Bhatia recalls. \u201cIn 2009, the State Minister of Culture said Jodhpur was now a two-night destination. That\u2019s what the festival changed.\u201d Today, the Jodhpur RIFF weekend is one of the most profitable periods in the year for the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year, Jodhpur RIFF deepened that connection with a \u201cmusic-theatre walk\u201d,\u00a0 an hour-long, solo, audio-based journey through the fort\u2019s winding ways into the blue city, with headphones guiding each step. Participants are invited to pause, push open doors, or reflect on quiet questions, as music and memory fold into the stone around them. It is not spectacle but intimacy: a reminder that a festival site is never just a stage, but part of the story itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image credits: Jodhpur RIFF<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Emotional Currency of Return<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF\u2019s timing is no accident. The festival is set to coincide with Sharad Purnima, chosen a year in advance from the lunar calendar. On those nights, the moon and the sun themselves become part of the stage, shifting the mood in ways no technician could ever control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you are touched on this deeper level, you don\u2019t need to market it,\u201d Bhatia says. \u201cPeople will always come back to feel it again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What keeps audiences returning are moments like the dawn jugalbandis, when the first note meets the first light, or the crossovers where desert folk folds into jazz, and a raga begins a quiet conversation with the blues. None of this is programmed for novelty. It is a risk taken on emotion. \u201cA festival must give audiences something they didn\u2019t know they could value,\u201d Bhatia insists. \u201cCuriosity sparks once, but return comes from depth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is how memory works at festivals. People don\u2019t carry away posters or schedules. They carry sensations. When the sun rises in sync with the songs, the experience becomes irreplaceable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lessons for a Generation of Festival Makers<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF today is a benchmark for younger festivals that aspire to longevity. For Bhatia, the lesson is clear: don\u2019t put the cart before the horse. \u201cToo many organisers obsess over resources and sponsorships before they\u2019ve figured out why the festival exists. At Jodhpur RIFF, the non-negotiable has always been: does this positively impact\u00a0 recognition, dignity and livelihood for the artist? Everything else flows from that.\u201d Jodhpur RIFF at 18 is a milestone, but it is also a reminder. Cultural legacy is fragile \u2014 eroded by television, tourism, and the temptations of other livelihoods. Yet in Jodhpur, at least once a year, legacy becomes the future. \u201cJodhpur RIFF is just about trusting the music to do its work. And somehow, it always does.\u201d he says.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n

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Who is Divya Bhatia?<\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Divya Bhatia is an independent artistic director, producer, and performing arts consultant based in Mumbai. He is the Festival Director of Jodhpur RIFF, India\u2019s leading roots music festival, now in its 18th year, where he has been instrumental in building a platform for both Rajasthani folk musicians and international roots artists. He also serves as Director of Music Museum Projects at the Mehrangarh Museum Trust and as Lead Partner for Applied Theatre with the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama (UK)<\/em>. A mentor and producer of emerging folk group SAZ, Bhatia curates and promotes music and theatre with artists, institutions, and festivals worldwide. His previous roles include directing multiple festivals, serving on juries such as Adelaide Fringe, Thespo, WOMEX, and the Aga Khan Music Awards, and presenting regularly on Indian performing arts. Educated in India, the UK, and Canada, he trained in Hindustani classical tabla and has acted in theatre, as well as in films like Paa (2009) and Talvar (2015).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jodhpur RIFF returns from 2\u20136 October 2025, an experience you simply can\u2019t miss.
<\/strong>Read more about the festival here<\/a> and secure your tickets now<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Explore our other articles on<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Ziro music festival<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eyemyth music festival<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Mehrangarh\u2019s ramparts, Jodhpur RIFF shows how a festival can shape a city. In this interview, Divya Bhatia shares insights newer festivals can learn from.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":22,"featured_media":18543,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[472,1459,1],"tags":[1507,1508,1509,1510,1511],"blog_topic":[551,546,552,1375,556,554],"class_list":["post-18524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture-wire","category-festival-careers","category-festival-wire","tag-jodhpur-festival","tag-jodhpur-riff","tag-jodhpur-riff-2025","tag-music-festivals","tag-music-festivals-2025","blog_topic-diversity-and-inclusion","blog_topic-festival-management","blog_topic-festival-marketing","blog_topic-heritage","blog_topic-production-and-stagecraft","blog_topic-programming-and-curation"],"yoast_head":"\nJodhpur RIFF: Festival That 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