How Sangeetcar began, how it became part of C.R.A.F.T., and the people who run it today.
Started by founder Ayesha Vasdev after her training in sound engineering at Abbey Road Studios, London — driven by her direct exposure to how vulnerable India's hereditary folk-music traditions really are.
From its earliest fieldwork, Sangeetcar grew from one founder's personal initiative into a structured, team-driven programme. Along the way: sustained relationships with artist families in Rajasthan, a professional documentation and archival process, and its first documentary film, Legacy in Tunes.
It now operates as the folk-music initiative of C.R.A.F.T., working towards its first public digital archive.
C.R.A.F.T. is an independent cultural institution working to document, preserve and transmit India's living folk traditions — folk music, art and handicrafts — before they disappear from living memory.
It works through long-term relationships, professional documentation, research and public engagement. Conservation, here, is an ongoing relationship with practitioners, not a one-time act of record-keeping.
Sangeetcar is C.R.A.F.T.'s folk-music initiative, and the first demonstration of this model. For more, reach out using the details in the footer below.
Sangeetcar brings folk musicians to institutional forums, international festivals, curated cultural platforms, schools, workshops and intimate house concerts. Each performance grows out of long-term field engagement rather than one-off programming — from grassroots community platforms to Taimei School in Tokyo, the Namaste India Festival and institutional summits in India.
By placing hereditary musicians alongside younger learners and public audiences, this work turns performance into a space for intergenerational knowledge transfer, visibility and continuity.
Intimate concerts in close listening spaces, taking Manganiyar folk music directly into private homes since 2015 — among the most personal expressions of this work.
A community-rooted festival platform, and the origin point of the long-term relationship with Chanan Khan and the surmandal revival.
An interactive outreach session introducing young listeners to folk instruments and storytelling — encountering traditional music as a living practice rather than a distant stage performance.
Rajasthani folk traditions, instruments and rhythm introduced to children in a Japanese school setting — cultural exchange made direct, accessible and memorable.
Four Manganiyar musicians presented to a major public audience, extending Sangeetcar's reach internationally within a prominent Indo–Japan platform.
A formal institutional concert showing how Manganiyar music can be curated for chamber-style audiences without losing its traditional character.
Inaugural performance at the summit, placing folk music at the opening of a national tourism and cultural-policy conversation.
Chanan Khan was selected from among 150 artists for this CSR initiative, receiving a grant of ₹1,00,000 and featuring in the HMIF publication — placing a hereditary artist within a contemporary corporate support framework.
Available in institutional, house-concert, festival, school-outreach and lecture-demonstration formats — tailored to the host context and audience. Formal proposals shared on request.
Founder of Sangeetcar and a trustee of C.R.A.F.T. Trained in sound engineering at Abbey Road Studios, London. Leads recording, archival and creative direction — and built Sangeetcar from an independent field project into a structured cultural initiative.
Trustee of C.R.A.F.T. Belongs to the Maihar royal family of Madhya Pradesh, and brings years of experience in India's handicrafts sector to the organisation's governance and long-term direction.
Oversees the financial administration of the trust, bringing decades of accounting experience to Sangeetcar's fiscal governance and compliance.
Supports Sangeetcar's editorial standards and regulatory documentation, keeping the organisation's communications and compliance accurate and current.
Part of the Sangeetcar team since its early years, supporting operations, documentation and administrative coordination.
Leads Sangeetcar's film and production work — directing and shooting documentary and archival material from concept to final edit.
Manages field production and visual operations — location logistics and on-ground technical execution for Sangeetcar's shoots.
