Claire Colley visits Rajasthan’s International Folk Festival.
Bhanveri Devi walks on to the stage in the resplendent Moti Mehal room, her face covered with a traditional red odhni. The embers of the sun sparkle in the mirrors as she sings. So abandoned is her voice in its delivery, the audience is visibly moved.
Married at 11 – and pregnant at 12 – Bhanveri has had nine children to care for. She recalls living in poverty as a low-caste musician: ‘I would knock on doors and sing for food. They were very hard days.’
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