Rangeela, a troupe of seven musicians and one singer/dancer from the Thar desert of northwestern India, will be performing in Founders Great Hall Monday, Nov. 14, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. as part of its“Hearts with Hope” tour.
Rangeela, a troupe of seven musicians and one singer/dancer from the Thar desert of northwestern India, will be performing in Founders Great Hall Monday, Nov. 14, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. as part of its“Hearts with Hope” tour. This event is sponsored by the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, and will be presented as part of South Asian Awareness Week, Nov. 14-18. The week's theme will be“Active Culture.”
The artists of Rangeela span 36 generations of musical tradition, and carry a history of social discrimination and disenfranchisement in their home country. The performers are considered the gatekeepers of traditional Rajasthani music and culture, but they are relegated to the lowest level of the Indian caste system. The“Hearts with Hope” tour brings Rangeela to the United States for the first time, playing at many venues across the East Coast during its two-month stay. The troupe's mission is to spread awareness of its situation in India and encourage appreciation of its rich cultural legacy.
Rangeela's tour is made possible by Folk Arts Rajasthan (FAR), a nonprofit that works with the India-based NGO Lok Kala Sagar Sansthan (LKSS) to preserve the folk art and culture of the marginalized Merasi (musician) community of Rajasthan, India. For more information, visit FAR's Web site at www.folkartsrajasthan.org.
The troupe's Haverford performance is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Janice Lion, Domestic Program Coordinator for the Center for Peace and Global Citizenship, at (610) 896-1308.
