MUMBAI: The world of music will come alive at Udaipur, the city of lakes, for the World Music Festival, which will bring together a wide array of artists across genres from India, Africa and Europe.

The two-day event will start on Saturday at the Fateh Sagar Paal and Railway Training Institute Ground in Udaipur.

The festival also marks the celebrations of 60 years of diplomatic relations between Spain and India.

The event will feature Portuguese fado and popular music singer Carminho; French composer Mathias Duplessy who will collaborate with Rajasthani vocalist Mukhtiyar Ali from the semi-nomadic community called Mirasi from the Thar desert, Flamenco group Juanma Zurano and Tamara; African beat music by Ivory Coast’s Grammy award-winning Dobet Gnahore; fusion rock band The Raghu Dixit Project; Sufi and gospel music Sonam Kalra & The Sufi Gospel Project; Papon and the East Indian Company among others.

Festival director Sanjeev Bhargava said the aim of this festival is to bring artists from genres which India is not too familiar with.

“There are a plethora of festivals now and most of them are into rock and fusion bands or metal whereas the world of music has many genres. There are many types of music, for example, fado, Saharan soul, African music,” Bhargava told IANS.

“These genres have never been seen in India in a proper way. People of India should be able to hear great music from other countries in India,” he added.

The reason behind choosing Udaipur as the venue for this event was its burgeoning infrastructure and accessibility, says Bhargava.

“Udaipur has burgeoning infrastructure, which is aiming to go global. There are excellent hotels. It is well connected to Delhi and Mumbai. It’s close to Gujarat as well. It is a picturesque location, so when we are doing the romantic elements here, it is right on the lake. Such a location is difficult to find,” he added.

Bhargava also acknowledged Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje’s help in giving onus to festivals like this.

“There must be a political will and the chief minister is standing with open arms for these concepts. She wants excellence. All in all, this is a far better place than Delhi. Delhi has become too crowded and overdone,” he added.

(Source: IANS)