Community & Religiosity: Role & Impact of Mystic singers from Kathmandu, Nepal to Rajasthan, West India

Paper Abstract: Mysticism and religion, folk traditions and faith, community and nation, identity and nationalism are seen as competitive and at cross-purpose in many a politico-socio-cultural landscapes. Although more of a continuum than opposing aspects, each of these have been employed to define and rule society and politics. Diverse streams of folk tradition weave a mystic, a-religious, a-political, non-mainstream religiosity and identity from Jaisalmer, Rajasthan in the northwestern deserts of India to Kathmandu valley of Nepal. What is the role and impact of this mystic repertoire in the voice of these nomadic, transhumant, and transformed bards from eras long ago to today?
In the context of Nepal and India, those that are not Christian or Muslim are clubbed as Hindu (or Buddhist) for both the political numbers game and the creative organised religious indoctrination. Increasing numbers of teenagers and young adults are drawn to this mystic-singing folk-world as if to break from the shackles of their labeled, titled, ‘community & religion’ identity. Does the call of these unknown-known, legendary-historical commoner-poets, their language, and the folk-mystic singers carve an alternative alluring religiosity and community?
This short Paper speaks of this growing cultural shift, the trends, and the implications for those within and outside this space in terms of nation and individual. The diverse framing of religiosity is contextualized in the wider geopolitical sphere to understand and chart the way forward of this paradigm. It draws on a decade of on-the-ground ethnographic study and immersion in such traditions of language and music.