What if India's folk traditions were not merely cultural treasures to be preserved, but the foundation for intellectual property, rural livelihoods, creative entrepreneurship and global influence? In Rajasthan's Shekhawati region, Singing Sands offers a compelling glimpse of what this future could look like.

Through Singing sands, an annual folk music and cultural festival, Jaipur-based startup, Dancing Peacock is building experiences around the people who sustain India's living heritage. The ambition extends beyond organising a festival. It is about creating a space where cultural preservation, audience engagement and economic opportunity can reinforce one another.

For me, as India Lead for the Global South Film Festival, this is an important story about the emerging creative economy - one in which cultural enterprises can connect inherited knowledge with contemporary audiences, entrepreneurship and new possibilities for growth.

Dancing Peacock was founded with a mission to support the conservation and continuity of intangible cultural heritage. It works directly with hundreds of folk artistes and artisans, designing musical and cultural experiences that bring wider exposure to their work and create opportunities for sustainable livelihoods.

Registered with the Rajasthan Government's iStart initiative, the startup approaches culture not simply as content to be presented to an audience, but as a living ecosystem sustained by people, skills and communities.

The festival brings together folk music, crafts, traditional cuisine, built heritage, local history, dance and equestrian traditions in an intimate setting in Shekhawati. Visitors are encouraged to engage directly with artistes and artisans, hear their stories and experience cultural practices up close.

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