Creative ecosystem & fellowship.
A fellowship for
living music.
Building a creative ecosystem for the survival and dignity of hereditary musician communities.
Pugal, Bikaner, Rajasthan
Ongoing since December 2025
Mir community musicians & children
The Story
There is music in the dunes.
Pugal is a village 80 kilometres from Bikaner, deep in the Thar. Poets, mystics, saints and Sufis once moved through these dunes — translating their reflections into poetry, songs, notes and rhythms that found their home in the throats of hereditary musician communities.
Among them: the Mir community — hereditary custodians of Sufi kalam, Saraiki poetry, and the santwani of Kabir and Meera, spanning Western Rajasthan, North India, and Pakistan.
Today, very few remain as communities move to alternate livelihoods. Fewer young people are learning what older generations inherited. The Guru-Shishya parampara — the living chain of knowledge from master to student — has weakened and become rare. This is where Project Lokdhun begins.
"Ram Raag ka roop hai — Melody is the form of the divine. Listen with deep attention. It does not appear to the eye; it unfolds in careful attention."
— Mir Razzak Ali, Ustaad & Lead Artist, Lokdhun Shaala
We don't own this space. We offer it — to the city, to its artists, to its wanderers, and to whoever arrives withsomething to make, share, or simply witness.
Partners
Voices of Tomorrow
On the ground.
Lokdhun Shaala — a sacred space in the making — brings musicians and children together to learn their community music once again. Classes are held twice a week. The curriculum is rooted in the Mir community's living repertoire: over 250 songs, collected directly from the Ustaads.
Creative Ecosystem
An integrated framework — festivals, archives, documentation, livelihood pathways, and institutional partnerships — designed so artforms, artists, and communities can thrive together.
Fellowships
Re-imagining the Guru-Shishya parampara into fellowship-based models. Master musicians are onboarded as Ustaads, receive monthly remuneration, and lead structured music training — one community at a time.
9
children learning at Lokdhun Shaala
2
master artists as Ustaads
250+
songs in living repertoire
96
teaching days targeted in year one
We have participated in exhibitions in Bikaner earlier also, but have never seen such management and arrangements before. Earlier we were skeptical about sales, but our sales were better than what we do in Jaipur or Delhi.
Artisan Organisation
Craft Collective
Rajasthan
Thank you for such a well-managed platform — we got recognition and great sales.
SHG Participant
Self Help Group Member
Assam
Oct '25
Field study.
Week-long visit to Pugal — artists interviewed, traditions documented, community needs mapped.
Dec '25
Shaala begins.
Learning centre established. 250+ songs collected. Community screenings and student identification initiated.
Jan '26
Classes start.
Instruments acquired. Team moves to Pugal full-time. Children attend Ajoo Gooja Children's Festival in Bikaner.
Feb '26
Classes start.
14 structured sessions. Tabla training begins. Mir Abdul Jabbar onboarded as second Ustaad.
Mir Razzak Ali
Vocals & Harmonium · Lead Ustaad
Trained by his grandfather Ustad Subhan Khan, a legendary artist of the Pugal region. Has performed across India and internationally. His personal collection of 250+ songs is the living curriculum of Lokdhun Shaala.
Sufi kalam, Harmonium, Qawwali
Mir Abdul Jabbar
Tabla, Dholak & Algoza · Ustaad
Trained by Ustad Faiz Mohammed. Accompanied Mir Mukhtiyar Ali for 15+ years. One of Pugal's most respected tabla masters, onboarded in February 2026 to lead rhythm and percussion training.
Tabla, Dholak, Algoza
Support
Choose how you would like to be part of this journey.
Your support enables both those who carry the knowledge and those who are ready to receive it.
♥
Adopt an artist
Cover the honorarium and teaching support for a folk artist. Your contribution ensures a master musician can teach — and be sustained doing so.
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Adopt a child
Support the complete training journey of a child at Lokdhun Shaala. Nurture the next generation of community musicians.
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CSR & institutional partnership
Align your organisation with a field-tested, community-led cultural initiative. We offer field immersion, fellowships, documentation, and co-branded impact reporting.
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Volunteer or intern
Bring skills in documentation, design, education, or research. Walk with the community on the ground.
