Born in Rajasthan, crowned in Europe

At first sight, they look like village musicians, dressed in their Sunday best, who''ve strayed into the city quite by mistake. But hear one of them talk to their manager in fluent French, and you''re bound to do a double take.Meet the Maharajas — a traditional Rajasthani band, which hails from the Barmer Zilla and belongs to the traditional Langa music parivaar. And hear their fascinating tale of how they met an Algerian French-speaking tourist 10 years ago, who was instrumental in them forming their own band. The quartet of Bachchu, Barkat, Noor Mohammed, Murad and Mushtaq may not yet be famous in India, but they''ve performed everywhere — from the Edinburgh Festival to the Summer Stage in New York''s Central Park, the Aka Saka Blitz in Tokyo and even atop the hills of Ibiza with some of the world''s most renowned DJs."We''ve travelled a minimum of nine months in the last decade, in Europe and all over, and performed with great Flamenco artists like Arcengle and Paco de Lucia and Natasha Atlas," says Bachchu. The eldest, Barkat adds: "All this is only because of the mind behind us, Azzouz.""The simplicity of their music made me feel like a part of me belonged to them," recalls Azzouz, their director. "Today, we''ve cut two CD''s — one called Dhola Maru in North America and 786 in Europe — and the popularity simply seems to be growing."It costs about 500,000 Euros for an entire tour of the Maharajas over a period of one year. Thee group is in Mumbai to record the closing number for Haath Se Haath Mila, an AIDS awareness production of the BBC World Service Trust. "Even though our music is appreciated around the world, we haven''t found time to perform in India," they say. "But now, Azzouz has decided to settle in Udaipur, and you should be hearing more of us at home." They add excitedly: "Next weekend, we''re playing at Raveena Tandon''s wedding." For guys who''ve performed at some of the most happening parties on the planet with world-famous DJ''s, these small pleasures are still to be enjoyed.