Mame Khan

Some Lesser Known Facts About Mame Khan

• Mame Khan is an Indian Rajasthani folk singer who is known for his Sufi and folk music performances. His first Bollywood break was Bawre, after which his fame just increased. He is also known for his famous Rajasthani song Kesariya Balam.

• He started singing at a young age and joined his tribe for performing at childbirth, weddings, and other related ceremonies. Since childhood, he used to sing in annual festivals at his school and received prizes for singing National Anthem and a patriotic song Ae Mere Watan Ke Logon. ^[1]The Hindu

  

• Khan was originally a dholak player who belongs to the Manganiyar community, which has been following the singing tradition for over 14 generations. They follow a unique style of singing called Jhagra that features instruments like Khartal and Kamaicha. ^[2]BBC News

• His father and uncle were great musicians, and he learned singing by listening to them. He used to practice singing under their guidance. His father also taught him cooking, which Mame still loves to do.

• He was about 10 or 11 years old when he gave a music performance with his tribe for former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on Independence day.

• In 1999, he went on a world tour to Belgium and forgot his Dholak there. After returning back, he was not able to perform for a week without it, and his Dholak was returned to India. After this incident, Mame’s father advised him to take up singing as a profession. ^[3]The Hindu

• In 2006, Mame worked as a singer in a band called Manganiyar Seduction, which was produced by Roysten Abel. In this band, he performed more than 100 shows across the world.

  

• He used to give singing performances at events. Once, he went to sing at the wedding of Ila Arun’s daughter when someone noticed him and recommended his name to Shankar Mahadevan, a famous music composer. ^[4]Indian Express He signed him up for singing a song in the film Luck By Chance in 2009. This song was Bawre, and Hrithik Roshan performed on this song in the movie. ^[5]DNA India

• He soon became a well-known singer and gave his first performance outside the country in Central Park, New York. In his career, he has sung songs with his tribe in over 60 countries.

  

• In October 2015, Khan released his crowd-funded debut album Mame Khan’s Desert Sessions. In the same year, he also sang the national anthem for Star Sports and Hotstar’s Pro Kabaddi League Season 2015. ^[6]Business Standard

• He has sung two songs, Aitbaar and Chakora for the Bollywood movies Nobody Killed Jessica (2011) and Mirzya (2016).

• In 2016, his album Summer Nights on the Dunes was released under the label Living Media. In December 2016, he released a single song Sanu Ik Pal Chain Na Ave, in which he combined Rajasthani and Punjabi folk music styles. In 2017, he released another album No. 1 Yaari Jam under the label of Salim-Sulaiman.

• He gained massive popularity for his appearance in Coke Studio with famous singer Amit Trivedi. His song “Chaudhary” has been featured in the Indian TV serial “Balika Vadhu”.
  

  

  In an interview with BBC, he talked about how working with Coke Studio got him fame and said,

  I believe that just being an artist is not enough for an artist. For that it is very important for you to be on social media. Any of my songs used to be heard by 3000 people in my village 14 years ago but today the same Millions of people listen to the song and I want everyone to hear and understand my music and that’s what Coke Studio did.’ ^[7]BBC News

• As per the Manganiyar traditions, singers are not expected to be singing alone, but Mame rose to fame with his solo performances in the industry. ^[8]BBC News He said that folk singers do not get their deserved credit in the film industry, and it is really difficult for Manganiyar singers to earn recognition and fame. He also talked about what music means to his community and said,
  

  For us, music is like mathematics. It’s the calculations we keep in our mind when performing.’ ^[9]The Hindu

• Apart from his traditional Manganiyar style, he is also known for his Sufi style of singing. He is a fan of Sufi poets like Mira Bai, Lal Shahbâz Qalandar, Baba Ghulam Farid, Kabir, and Bulleh Shah and loves to present their songs with his own touch.

• He became the first folk singer of India to walk the Cannes 2022 red carpet. He also sang a song during the inaugural ceremony of the Indian Pavilion on 18 May at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. During this event, he sang a Rajasthani folk song on which Tamannaah, Urvashi Rautela, Deepika Padukone, and Pooja Hegde performed a dance together. ^[10]The Times of India
  

  

• He has been a part of My Country, My Music which was a folk music project by Shankar Mahadevan. He has also performed in popular Indian festivals such as the Repertwahr Festival, NH7 Weekender, Mood Indigo, Sahitya Aaj Tak, and Rajasthan Partnership Summit.