Rajasthan Calling

How much time does it take for you to answer when somebody asks you “Where are you from basically ?” Instant reply , maybe few seconds , -- but when somebody asks me this question it takes me little more than few seconds (maybe a minute) to decide what to say … I usually say “Basically a Malayali , born in Rajasthan brought up in North East” why I say this is – my Malayalam (whatever I can spea...k) is heavily “hindi” accented – many find me more Bengali (maybe because of my dressing mostly cotton sarees , bindi and overall packaging ) – may be influence of my being in North East –

Yesterday went for a fest “Rajasthan Calling “ - around 10-12 stalls of authentic Marwad stuff hadndicraft,food and folk music , not much crowd and very comfortable venue and there were these musician singing folk songs – after they performed one song which I realized was the song “ Moorni Baagan mein Naache Aadhi raat maa” they took a small break to decide what to sing next … taking this opportunity , I asked them “Bhaiyya – Kesariya gaayenge ? “ and the performer asked “Kesariya Balam ?” I said “Ji” he smiled and next 5-7 mins I felt the whole group was just performing for me

kesariya balam aaonee

padharonee mare des rey, padharonee mare des

kesariya balam aaonee, padharonee mare des

I do have little memories of Jodhpur where I was born , last I visited Rajasthan was in 1998 Bikaner-Jodhpur-Jaisalmer trip and yes I do get the feel of belonging to that place even now – And same feeling I get when I hear the song –

jadi tor daak shune keu naa aashe tabe ekla chalo re;

tabe ekla chalo, ekla chalo, ekla chalo, ekala chalo re

Yeah a confused Mallu– it is easier for me to answer the question “Where are you from ?” when I am not in India – quick answer “India”