It will be led by Hungarian-Moroccan singer Majda Mária Guessous

Ranjani Govind

What would you expect to hear from a Hungarian folk music group in a ‘Budapest-Bengaluru music fest’?

Join the renowned folk performer Majda Mária Guessous as she takes up our own Kannada Tatwapada of Santa Shishunal Sharif, sung in a peppy folk style “Kodagana Koli Nungitha Nodawwa Tangi”, apart from other Moroccan, Turkish, Hungarian, Rajasthani, Tamil and Urdu folk numbers.

“I heard this Kannada original of C. Ashwath and the later versions brought up by Raghu Dikshit. When Vijay Prakash sang this song overflowing with melodic rhythm, I started humming it and practicing on it, as I wanted to treat Bengalureans with this enjoyable number. Indian folk music has always been close to my heart,” says Majda Mária who takes up several Indian numbers in her tours all over the world.

The Rajasthani folk musical “Nimbuda Nimbuda Nimbuda” of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and a Tamil number are also in her list to bring an Indian flavour to her folk presentation. The Hungarian-Moroccan singer, who has many awards to her credit, graduated in folk music at the Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary and is presently teaching there. On Tuesday, her Meshinda Band performed at the Mysore Dasara celebrations. As Indian folk inspired her during her earlier tours, 2013 saw the birth of Meshinda Band, founded by the sitar artist Szabolcs Tóth along with Iván Barvich and Gerzson D. Boros bringing in a blend of melodies and improvisation from Morocco, through Hungary and Turkey to India.

Hungarian folk music on October 22 by Meshinda Band at 6 p.m. in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in association with ICCR and the International Arts & Cultural Foundation