Once again the unusual Lok Laya festival was held in Chitrakoot in Bundelkhand on 17 March. A celebration of folk music, Lok Laya is truly a people’s festival. Musicians, unshaven and tired from a night spent in crowded buses, dressed so ordinarily that you wouldn’t glance twice at them, suddenly grab your attention as they get onstage. Their voices are deep, sonorous and rhythmic. Their traditional musical instruments are rich with sound. There is never a dull moment. Performers and audience are in perfect sync.
The performers walk to the stage through the audience, singing and. . .