Maharaja is a raucous troupe of singers, dancers and musicians -- men, women and a drag queen -- who hail from Rajasthan, an Indian state that abuts Pakistan. Rajasthan is dominated by the still, sandy might of the Thar Desert, and if you happened to find yourself shuffling through it, you would likely encounter, of all things, a fossilized seashell or two -- the Thar Desert was once underwater. Standing in this magical land and becoming slightly delirious with the shimmering heat, you might witness Maharaja suddenly appearing before you -- as colorful as the peacocks that wander the desert -- and when night fell and the stars came out, they would doubtless put on the show of a lifetime.
From the first stabbing notes on the harmonium, listeners will feel the joy and sadness that is to come from the rest of Maharaja's self-titled album. But if this music is arresting from the start, the troupe is keen to suggest that an appreciation of the castes to which they belong enhances the listening experience. And so . . .
The majority of Maharaja hails from the Langas caste, a group that converted from Hinduism to Islam several centuries ago and eventually became influenced by the searching, ecstatic nature of Sufism. The Langas historically lived on the land of their Muslim patrons and were highly regarded. By contrast, the Manganyars, who also produced notable musicians, have traditionally been a beggar caste. The Manganyars had also converted from Hinduism to Islam but preserved many of their Hindu rituals and remained open to playing in Hindu settings. Finally, the Kalbelias are devotees of Shiva who never converted to Islam. Historically, the men have been snake charmers and the women dancers who enter trances deep enough to inhabit the bodies of cobras. Not surprisingly, it is from this caste that both of Maharaja's dancers hail.