Music transcends language as Polish, Raj artistes unite at Jodhpur
In Short
Last year, I added some verses about free Palestine in my performance. This year, I was thinking that the music should not be political. The music is our heart. The music is about love, about being human: Polish singer and composer Karolina Cicha
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Music transcends language as Polish, Raj artistes unite at Jodhpur
Jodhpur: Polish singer and composer Karolina Cicha named her opening song at Jodhpur RIFF “Chosen to Love”, which combined words from her native language and Ukrainian, as a message of solidarity with Ukrainian refugees who fled their country after the war with Russia in 2022.
Before arriving at Jodhpur RIFF, which began here at the Mehrangarh Fort on October 22, Cicha, while deciding on her setlist, briefly considered whether her music should be apolitical.
“Last year, I added some verses about free Palestine in my performance. This year, I was thinking that the music should not be political. The music is our heart. The music is about love, about being human,” she told PTI.
However, as she sat down to plan her set with Rajasthani folk singer Anita Dangi and listened to her songs in a foreign language that spoke of similar emotions, dreams and love, she realised that “deep in our hearts, we are all the same”.
“But in fact, the dialogue between the cultures would not be possible if we do not agree with it politically. Deep in our hearts, we are all the same. No matter from which caste, country or language we are,” the 47-year-old said.
Although the duo did not share a common language, they managed to create a performance over three days, rehearsing for two hours each day, with the set thematically built around “a dialogue between two cultures”.
In response to one of Cicha’s songs about finding a connection with the universe within oneself, Dangi performed the popular devotional song “Sawariyo ghat mai re”, which conveys that God resides in one’s heart and that there is no need to look for it elsewhere. “When we were rehearsing our songs, the translator conveyed my emotions to Anita. I could not stop my tears when I heard that her song meant the exact same thing I was saying in my song,” Cicha said.
