Songs of the Rann: archive of Kutchi folk songs

This multimedia archive on PARI, in collaboration with the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS), is a rich collection of folk music from Kachchh. The 341 songs reflect themes of love, longing, loss, marriage, devotion, motherland, gender awareness, democratic rights and present the abundant diversity of the region through their images, languages and music. An informal collective of 305 percussionists, singers and instrumentalists from Gujarat play a variety of musical forms and bring to life the once thriving oral traditions of Kachchh which are in decline. It becomes especially important to preserve them, as their sounds slowly fade across the desert sands