Folk Arts Rajasthan

Folk Arts Rajasthan (FAR), based in the United States, partners with Lok Kala Sagar Sansthan (LKSS) a community folk arts society based in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan India. Together our US based Non-Profit and LKSS, the Indian NGO, are committed to eradicating illiteracy, fostering community development, and celebrating cultural understanding through preservation of the Merasi traditional folk music legacy.

In their remote desert region of Jaisalmer District, members of LKSS are born being called Manganiyar. From birth, they are considered untouchable beggars and will bear this social stigmatism their entire lives. Daily harassment and intense marginalization remove all opportunity. The Merasi, as they have chosen to call themselves, have held the role of oral genealogists, storytellers, and musicians for upper caste communities in the same geographic area for more than 37 generations.

FAR Objectives

• Preserve and promote traditional Rajasthani music and culture
• Provide opportunities for education and empowerment for upcoming generations
• International outreach through cultural exchange of music and art

Projects Education and Preservation

• Merasi School and Music Merasi are twin educational initiatives weaving a new world of options for Merasi children
• Scholarship students, attend private school beyond Merasi School capacity

International Outreach and Cultural Understanding

• 2004-2009: FAR and LKSS are supporting the collaborations of visiting professional musicians, academics, photographers, writers and filmmakers with the endangered Merasi Culture in Jaisalmer, India
• The Hearts With Hope international music tours are crucial in building a peaceful bridge while fostering the understanding of American students and audiences about the Merasi Legacy.
  In turn, The Merasi community buoyed by the support, dignity, and respect received from American audiences are determined that their children will offer the same ancient art to international audiences for generations to come