Rajnigandha Shekhawat can’t stop talking about the old days of the Raj. Our conversation steers to her great-grandfather and his love for music. “In those days, quite a few musicians and their families were in the care of our household, which means they performed in the haveli and were supported by our family,” she says, halting her narration every now and then to give directions to her autorickshaw driver.

The self-declared ‘hardcore Rajasthani’ has been working in Mumbai for the last two years as a marketing consultant but this is just a temporary stint for the aspiring folk singer. “I can’t get myself to tell my father that I want to sing professionally. In my house, singing in public is equal to backchat with your parents,” says Shekhawat, who belongs to the aristocratic family of Malsisar, in the Shekhawati region of erstwhile Rajputana.