Gafruddin Mewati Jogi
A bhapang player from Deeg who sings the Mewati Jogi epics, including a 2,500-couplet Mahabharata, from memory, honoured with the Padma Shri in 2026.
Gafruddin Mewati Jogi plays the bhapang, a folk instrument of the Mewat region, and sings long epics that his family has passed down by word of mouth. In 2026 he was named for the Padma Shri in the field of art, from Rajasthan [1].
Learning at home
He was born on 26 September 1962 in Kaithwara village, Pahadi tehsil, Deeg district, into the Mewati Jogi community [2]. He studied up to Class 9 [2]. From childhood he learned from his family the bhapang, the jogiya sarangi, the dholak and the devotional music of Mewat and Braj [2]. For decades he sang from village to village, living on alms [2].
The epics
His repertoire includes a Mewati Mahabharata of nearly 2,500 couplets, known as Pandun ke Kade, as well as a folk Ramayana, the story of Shiva’s wedding and songs of Krishna’s life [2]. In all, he has helped preserve about twenty endangered folk instruments and oral traditions, and his work has been used in PhD research [2].
On the national stage
He has performed for the Sangeet Natak Akademi, the IGNCA, the National School of Drama and Jaipur’s Jawahar Kala Kendra [2]. In 2007 he founded the Brajrang Mewat Sahitya Lok Kala Sansthan in Bharatpur [2]. His son Shaharukh Khan Mewati Jogi and grandson Danish Jogi carry on the tradition [2].
He received the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2022 [2].
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2026: list of awardees — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 11 October 2026.
- [2] Padma Awards 2026 investiture ceremony brochure: citation for Gafruddin Mewati Jogi — Press Information Bureau, Government of India. Accessed 12 October 2026.
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