Amarrass Records, Aga Khan Museum join hands to produce docu series 'Searching for the Blues'

The Aga Khan Museum and Amarrass Records, an independent record label, have collaborated on a documentary series to highlight the ''secular'' traditional folk music of Rajasthan.

Titled ''Searching for the Blues'', the project is a compilation of three half-hour episodes, the first of which introduces the principal figure of the series - Padma Shri recipient Lakha Khan, a seventh-generation Manganyar Sindhi sarangi player and vocalist.

While the blues usually refers to the African-American music that originated in the American Deep South in the mid-1800s, the conviction that every culture has its own equivalence of the genre at its core inspired Ankur Malhotra and Ashutosh Sharma, founders of New Delhi-based Amarrass Records, to set out on several journeys through Rajasthan in search of the ''Indian blues''.

And it was their mission ''to conserve, promote, and sustain traditional folk music'' that resonated with the Toronto-based museum, which partnered with them to produce the three-part docuseries.

''Their premise spoke to the Museum's wider goal of fostering understanding and appreciation that Muslims have made to world heritage. In this context, the idea is to search the world for artists outside of urban centres who may not be well-known and who may be playing the last instruments of their kind,'' said Amirali Alibhai, Head of Performing Arts at the Aga Khan Museum in a statement.

Malhotra said while many folk musicians had participated in several festivals, both at home and abroad, they remained relatively unknown.

''People didn't know their names, where they were going and what they were playing. In the shifting sands of the desert, we found that the blues were everywhere,'' he added.

Following a brief meeting 10 years ago with the Amarrass Records founders, Lakha Khan has now been performing for audiences around the world, including at major venues in Europe and the US, and recording numerous albums to acclaimed critical reviews.

The series will also feature the footage from these international concerts, highlighting that Lakha Khan's ''secular music and universal spiritual message is not defined by language or geography'', the makers said.

The question of how to carry on and preserve a centuries-old oral and musical tradition will be explored in the final episode of the series, where the audience will meet Lakha Khan's son Dane Khan, who, a decade ago, was driving a truck and showed little interest in following in his father's footsteps.

The gradual recognition of Lakha Khan gave Dane Khan the confidence and opportunity to provide for his family while also continuing the family musical tradition into the eighth generation, something the viewers will witness in the concert and home footage in the docuseries.