The Polish Institute in New Delhi organized a two city tour with Karolina Cicha and Company in Autumn this year. In 2015, Karolina was an official selection of WOMEX, the biggest World Music festival worldwide. Playing her music, she has visited dozens of festivals such as the Slot Art Festival, Fanø Free Folk Festival and many others across Europe, Asia & America.

Karolina Cicha draws from the richness and diversity of her home region – Podlaskie, located in the very northeast of Poland, which is one of the most culturally and ethnically diverse areas in Poland – the borderland between the East and the West. The region is inhabited by Polish, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Ukrainians, Russians, Tatars and Roma people.

This group’s music had never been heard in India before. While Tatar music has played a significant role in developing Karolina’s artistic journey, the group’s repertoire included folk traditions and nuances from different regions of Poland and neighboring lands. The music she & her group performed was greatly influenced by other nationalities such as from Ukraine, Belarus and Jewish among many others.

Performances in Delhi at the amphitheater at the India Habitat Center and the Jodhpur RIFF festival which is held at the magnificent Mehrarngarh Fort were well attended and received well by its audiences. India has a rich tradition of folk and indigenous music of its own and listeners were able to recognize common sound and an infectious energy created by traditional and acoustic instruments. Folk music in most parts of the world has come to be known for its storytelling. We believe that this resonated with audiences and could be compared to the best of music traditions prevalent in India.