For me, Gaon Connection has brought the invisible world into the light and I have learnt about the indomitable spirit of those who inhabit that world. As the year ends, I look back at some of the encounters I have had and will cherish forever.

The Rajasthan Kabir Yatra wound its way through Rajasthan, and into the hearts of the people who travelled with it, and in the process healed some wounds and set about fostering peace and universal love.

Rajasthan Kabir Yatra, India's longest travelling folk music festival, is underway from October 2-8. This 'pilgrimage' is co-hosted by Rajasthan Police under its Project Taana Baana. Poet saints of Rajasthan have helped the police to strengthen the warp and weft of communal amity. To know more about this initiative, Gaon Connection strikes up a conversation with Dr Amandeep Singh Kapoor, Director, Central Detective Training Institute, Jaipur, which is under the Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs.

India's longest travelling folk music festival features performers and singers from different communities who come together and celebrate the oral traditions of the Bhakti, Nirgun, and Sufi saints and poets who preached universal love. The Yatra will go on from October 2-8.

The Bison Horn Maria tribe is one of the oldest Adivasi communities in central India. Menfolk of this tribe wear traditional headdress made of bison horns, decorated with cowrie shells and bird feathers. Women, too, wear headbands made of cowrie shells and a lot of silver jewellery.

Gurmeet Bawa, who was a melodious repository of Punjab’s folk culture, was awarded the Padma Bhushan, posthumously on January 26, two months after she passed away. Despite obstacles, the acclaimed Punjabi folk singer chose to go down a difficult path and revived Punjabi folklore through her singing.

Young men and women from the Dangi tribe pay a sprightly homage to their reigning goddess – Dharti Maata – through a traditional dance which is a combination of speed and acrobatics skill.

Stories can change lives, teach valuable lessons and of course entertain. And when they are set to music, they can be transforming, as this qawwali written by the famous storyteller Neelesh Misra shows.

President’s National Award winner Chand Didi sings no more but her music legacy still resonates in Mussoorie where she has taught music for free to young students for over 38 years.

Hundreds of milkmen and cattle herders gather at temples in Panna, Madhya Pradesh the day after Diwali, and break into dance to show their love for Lord Krishna, who they consider their childhood friend. They are the Diwari dancers.