[ Car horn honks, indistinct conversations ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Men singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ Edgar: My name is Jacob Edgar.

I'm an explorer, but I don't search for lost cities or ancient ruins.

I'm on the quest for a different kind of treasure -- music.

♪ Derrière les montagnes et loin des charmes de l'Espagne ♪ ♪ Je retroveràis Cochabamba ♪ ♪ Je verrais les femmes et les enfants ♪ As an ethnomusicologist and world music record producer, I travel the globe hunting for the best songs the world has to offer... and I suffer through some of the worst so you don't have to.

♪ Amigo, reste pres de moi ♪ ♪ Cette nuit on va danser tout pres de la muerte ♪ I've got a backstage pass to the world's music, and I won't stop until I've heard it all.

[ Man singing in French ] ♪♪♪ ♪ Ban than ke gora kahan chali ♪ In Mumbai, the first city on my Indian musical adventure, I connected with one of India's biggest pop stars, Kailash Kher, and his band Kailasa.

♪ Mmm ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh, ooh ♪ Their music draws on a diverse range of Indian folk traditions, including the soulful music of Rajasthan.

♪ Ooh ♪ ♪ Mm, mm, mm ♪ ♪ Bhara maare aise jor ♪ ♪ Monh ki khavein sab chor ♪ ♪ Bijli si kadke ghanghor ♪ ♪ Bhittar bhittar barle bor ♪ ♪ Kaise, Chaloon main to tikhad tikhad ke ♪ Rajasthan is believed to be the region where Europe's gypsies first started wandering west countless years ago.

Hearing Kailash has inspired me to hit the road myself and head for the desert in search of India's ancient musical roots.

♪♪♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh ♪ Driving on Indian highways is not for the weak of heart.

Elaborately decorated semi trucks and busses weave in and out across the road, and no one pays much attention to the lane dividing lines.

One wrong move and splat -- Rajasthani roadkill.

♪ Bhaari-bhaari achraj paas pados karein itrane main ♪ ♪ Bhaari-bhaari achraj paas pados karein itrane main ♪ Eventually, I leave behind the signs of urban life and start passing through roadside villages.

♪♪♪ Monkeys lounge by the side of the road, happily accepting the leftovers that passing drivers toss their way.

I even find a great record store at a local truck stop.

I picked up a bunch of Rajasthani folk music CDs that I'm going to listen to on the way, and I think it's going to be a lot of fun.

We're going to have a great adventure.

♪ Ae Banthan wali mane kiye ♪ ♪ Ke Leri jhodi main ♪ ♪ Ke Leri jhodi main ♪ The infectious rhythms are the perfect soundtrack for an Indian road trip.

♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪ Ooh, ooh ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ Chandan raat main peesan baithi ♪ ♪ Kid-kid daant machaon jo ♪ ♪ Chandan raat... ♪ My first stop is the Kawa Cultural Center in Jaipur, where the director, Hameed Khan, has assembled musicians and dancers from miles around to give me a taste of the local sounds.

♪♪♪ [ Men singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Hameed plays tabla drums in the band Musafir, which literally means "wanderers," and it reflects the nomadic life these musicians lead.

For centuries, their ancestors roamed across the desert, charming snakes and entertaining people from rustic villages to the courts of the maharajas, the local royalty who once ruled the numerous princely states that are now part of modern day Rajasthan.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Hameed and his French wife, Marie-Noelle, have devoted their lives to preserving and promoting the region's rich music and dance heritage.

There is 3,000 language dialects in in Rajasthan.

3,000 dialects?

Yes.

And you have seen the -- even the turban.

There's seven colors.

Though, we love colors here.

The paintings, music.

And so if you go in the village, you will see, and I think in the life, we have to always love the culture.

The culture is the identity of the human being.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ When the dancing starts, the real show begins.

[ Men singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ One dancer balances a full jug of water on his head, perched on two little glasses.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [ Men singing in foreign language ] Wait!

He's adding two more cups between him and the heavy jug of water.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Standing on a bed of nails?

Now, that's something I've always wanted to try.

Okay.

I'm lifting up my leg.

Oh.

[ Grunting ] Ahh.

No problemo.

♪♪♪ From there, we're off to the magnificent Amber Fort, where the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band is demonstrating the powerful grooves of Indian brass bands.

In India, it's a common tradition for a brass band to play at the birth celebration of a newborn, at a wedding and at a funeral.

And this tradition dates back to British colonial era, when the British military bands used to play and the locals adopted the brass band style into their own unique mix of folk traditions and brass music.

Now we're standing here in front of the Amber Fort, which is a magnificent fort here in Jaipur, and we're blessed to have the Jaipur Kawa Brass Band, and they're going to demonstrate for us the real Indian Rajasthan brass band style.

Man: Hey!

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Edgar: I'm not sure this guy even plays the trumpet.

I think they just have him along to give the band a little sex appeal.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ These guys can really blast it out.

In fact, it seems from the look of the police heading our way, that the Maharaja of Jaipur, up in the Amber Fort, is not in the mood for a dance party.

The police came over and said we were filming without permission, and they kicked us off.

But once you get these guys going, even the long arm of the law can't stop them.

And they assemble in the parking lot for a little more jamming.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The scenery around Jaipur is truly breathtaking.

After a fond farewell to Hameed and his wife, I head for Jodhpur, known as the Blue City for the striking indigo color of its houses.

As night falls, the roads get even more insane.

Not only do you have to worry about trucks with no headlights barreling at you head on, you have to keep an eye out for cows as they wander casually through the speeding traffic.

♪♪♪ After eight hours of eye-widening terror, I'd arrive in Jodhpur to discover that my hotel also happens to be the local maharaja's palace.

The Taj Mahal looks like a little country house compared to this.

Maybe I did get splattered across the grill of a truck on the way here.

And this is heaven.

I'm in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, here to discover some of the region's incredibly rich music and dance traditions.

Looking out over the city of Jodhpur, and I'm on the mountaintop right next to the Mehrangarh Fort, which overlooks the city.

The Mehrangarh Fort is an ancient and incredibly beautiful fort that used to be the home of the maharaja before he moved to the palace over there.

And Rajasthan is just an incredibly magical place.

It's filled with colors, with energy, with beautiful people and incredible music.

It's just a very, very magical place to be.

♪♪♪ [ Men singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ I'm with Karni, who is the curator of the Mehrangarh Fort here in Jodhpur.

And this is really a magnificent palace and fort.

Now this is a museum, this fort.

But it's interesting, when you're walking through the museum, you actually have a lot of musicians kind of posted throughout the museum who are playing.

We when we set up this place as a museum, the idea was that we are not walking through fossilized walls, but to make it a living monument.

[ People singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The music that is on during the day, it's from the region, and it is folk.

But we have festivals which brings in different genre of music in collaboration with the musicians from here.

Wonderful.

Well, I'll be talking with the maharaja later today.

Yes.

Yes.

I'm gonna ask him about this festival.

He patronized this festival and really took a lead on this.

So I'm sure he'll enjoy your talk with him.

Great.

Well, let's -- Shall we go explore the fort a little bit?

Yes.

Great.

[ Woman vocalizing ] ♪♪♪ I guess when you're with the curator of the museum, you can go wherever you'd like.

[ Vocalizing continues ] ♪♪♪ This is called the Palace of Flowers, and it is a formal room where the maharaja has entertained his guests.

And here is a place where the musicians would sit and sing and also dancers dance.

This room must have just rung with incredible amounts of music over the years.

Yes.

I mean, imagine this room in the night with a lot of candles lit and musicians singing and the light reflecting from a mirrored roof which is above the gold-filigreed ceiling.

We're going up the back way.

You know, they don't build forts like they used to, man.

♪♪♪ As I'm guided through the fort by Karni Jasol, the museum's curator, I come across a young musician playing in the fort's courtyard whose striking voice stops me in my tracks.

♪♪♪ [ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ Edgar: His name is Pappu Ram, and he's been performing traditional Rajasthani folk music since he was a little child.

♪♪♪ As his powerful voice echoes off the thick walls of the fort, it feels as if we've traveled back in time.

Pappu Ram: [ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ His homemade single-string instrument is called a ravanahatha.

It has a haunting sound, and Pappu Ram is able to coax a melody of deep soul and powerful spirit out of it.

This, I learn, is the magic of Rajasthan's music.

It's a moving and beautiful experience, and for me, this moment alone is worth the trip.

♪♪♪ After the fort, I stroll through the streets of the Old City.

With its winding alleyways and colorful architecture, it's hard not to fall in love with the place.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ I'm exploring one of the older neighborhoods in Jodhpur, and it's just very colorful, lots of energy, lots of life, people on the streets, a lot of commerce and shopping.

We just saw a Muslim ceremony go by.

They were carrying a body on a pallet.

Oh, hello.

Hello!

What's this?

Cricket?

Ah, cricket!

Yes.

And you -- Ah, Australia.

Australia?

No.

America.

No cricket.

Just baseball.

Little do they know I am a pro cricket player.

I got my lessons in Mumbai, so I really know the ropes.

♪ Here we go ♪ [ Singing in foreign language ] I love the auto rickshaws here in Rajasthan.

They're a little different than the rickshaws you see in other cities.

I mean, they've got decorations and colors.

Some of them have Bollywood posters.

Some of the younger rickshaw drivers have put in speakers and they're, like, jacked-up and they're blasting Bollywood hits and techno hits at high volume.

So, I think they've got to start a show here called "Pimp My Rickshaw."

♪ I always make sure to invoke you first ♪ ♪ You're the ancient tone known as Om ♪ ♪ Vibrating and illuminating all my bones, the enlightened One ♪ Edgar: Everywhere I go, I'm besieged by cute little children.

Oh!

It's gone!

Share it.

Now share it.

You share it together, okay?

That's the only one I have.

I only have one.

♪ From dawn to dusk and from dusk till dawn ♪ ♪ Removing all obstacles till they're gone ♪ Edgar: For centuries, Rajasthan was made up of princely states controlled by local maharajas who lived in elaborate forts and palaces.

Although they lost their official power under British rule, the descendants of the maharajas are still treated as royalty, and they continue to play an important role as patrons of art and music.

Maharaja Gaj Singhji, whose family once ruled the state of Jodhpur, has invited me to his residence for a chat about local music and the annual festival that he helped support.

I admit it, I'm a little nervous about meeting His Highness Maharaja Gaj Singhji.

The thing I'm most nervous about is getting his name wrong.

What do I do when I greet him?

Do I supplicate myself on the floor and kiss his feet?

What's the protocol here?

As it turns out, I didn't need to worry, as the maharaja is a pretty down-to-earth guy.

How important do you see music in Rajasthani culture?

Well, I can speak particularly on behalf of Western Rajasthan, which is a largely dry and arid area.

And in order to make life palatable, there are two things that you will see a predominance of here.

One is music, and the other is color.

♪ Ganesha Namah Om ♪ ♪ Ganesha Namah Om ♪ ♪ Ganesha Namah Om ♪ Music is a part of it.

You go into the fields, and the farmers, they come back singing.

They go out singing.

You go into a village, you are welcomed with songs.

Edgar: The maharaja has arranged for an exclusive performance of traditional gypsy music and dance.

With the palace as a backdrop and the sun setting behind me, it's a transcendent sight.

♪♪♪ [ Men singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ These musicians are the real deal.

Traditionally, some of them make their living charming snakes and harvesting venom from cobras, which is used to create serum to cure snake bites.

Uh, maybe if they stayed a little further away from the snakes, they wouldn't need to be cured of snake bites in the first place.

It's just a thought.

♪♪♪ Night falls, but the music continues on.

With the fire burning and the buzzing sound of the mouth harp bouncing along with the rhythm of the drums, I can almost picture myself sitting around a campfire in the dunes of the Thar desert.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The staff of the palace has challenged me to try the incredibly spicy kachori, basically a deep-fried pastry shell stuffed with hot peppers.

[ India accent ] I will take the challenge.

[ Normal voice ] This is the chili bomb, which we also refer to as the "chili bum," which is what you get supposedly after you eat one.

It's like taming the cobra.

[ Funkadesi's "Makhana" plays ] [ Woman singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ You got to do better than this, guys.

Sorry.

Quite good, though.

♪♪♪ [ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ Edgar: While it's hard to leave Jodhpur and its music behind, I must continue my own nomadic adventure and head towards Delhi.

♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ India is home to many different religions, predominantly Hindu and Muslim, and in my quest to experience some authentic Qawwali music, I stop in Ajmer to visit the Moinuddin Chishti dargah a shrine to a Persian saint that's one of the most sacred sites for Sufi Muslims.

Sufis consider music to be an essential tool for expressing one's love of God.

Qawwali is a form of devotional music that dates back more than 700 years.

Its driving rhythms and soaring vocals are known to transport the listener into a trance-like state, where they feel at one with God.

[ Woman singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ I'm at the Garib Nawaz dargah in Ajmer, Rajasthan.

And this is one of the most sacred sites in the Sufi religion.

It's also an epicenter for Qawwali music.

So hopefully we'll get to hear some Qawwali as we explore the dargah.

[ Men singing in foreign language ] [ Rhythmic drumbeats ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ The coexistence of multiple religions in India is generally harmonious.

However, the history of the subcontinent has also been marred by regular outbursts of religious violence.

In October 2007, the tranquility of the dargah was shattered by a powerful bomb that killed three worshipers and injured many others.

I'm honored to be part of the first film crew to be allowed into this sacred site since the tragedy.

♪♪♪ [ Man singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ In a land where ancient history and beliefs are colliding head on with modern life, I wonder how musicians today are reconciling their faith with the realities of a globalized world.

For my last stop in this musical adventure, I'm heading to Delhi, India's capital city, and home to a thriving underground music scene.

There, I'll be meeting up with Rabbi Shergill, a turban-clad Sikh musician who also happens to be a fan of John Lennon, Bruce Springsteen, and Led Zeppelin.

[ Rabbi Shergill's "Challa" playing ] ♪♪♪ In Rajasthan, my musical experience was authentic and rootsy, and visually it was the ultimate celebration of color.

Rabbi: [ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ Edgar: Now I head back into a cosmopolitan city to experience the music that's cultivated in the Indian capital, New Delhi.

Rabbi: [ Singing in foreign language ] ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪