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Taga Ram Bheel
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Culture & heritage · Rajasthan

Twin flutes of the Thar

Taga Ram Bheel learned the algoza at seven, out with the cattle in the Thar. Those two flutes, played together in one breath, have since carried the sound of the desert to festival stages around the world.

Taga Ram Bheelतगा राम भील
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Taga Ram Bheel. Photo: Padma Awards, Government of India

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Born
17 April 1960, Moolsagar village
District
Jaisalmer, Rajasthan
Field
Algoza folk music of the Thar
Honours
Padma Shri 2026
7his age when he began to play
1981Gopa Chowk performance
2026Padma Shri

A boy with the herd

Taga Ram Bheel’s story runs from pastoral life in the Thar desert to international folk stages. According to his official Padma citation, he was born on 17 April 1960 in Moolsagar village, Jaisalmer.

At seven, while grazing cattle, he began learning to play the algoza, a pair of flutes played together, from his father and through his own practice.

From Gopa Chowk to the world

An Independence Day performance at Gopa Chowk in Jaisalmer in 1981 changed his public life. He later trained under Ustad Akbar Khan and in 1986 received a scholarship from the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training.

From Rajasthan’s desert festivals to folk festivals in Europe, Japan, Singapore and the USA, he took the sound of the algoza to wider audiences.

Teaching the next breath

He is the founder and director of the Algoza Folk Music Institute in Moolsagar. The real weight of his work lies beyond performance, in passing it on: an instrument and repertoire carried by oral tradition survive only as long as the next generation keeps learning.

The 2026 Padma Shri recognised this folk knowledge of the Thar as national heritage.

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