Kurjan is the local name for the Demoiselle Cranes, migratory birds from South Western Europe, Black sea, Poland, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, North and South Africa and Mongolia that migrate to parts of Rajasthan and make the comfort of Northern Thar their home during the winter months. These cranes are beloved and welcome visitors to the state and generally settle near Khichan, north of the town of Jodhpur. The Kurjan or Kuraj as they are sometimes called, represent the far away lands of their origin for the native Rajasthanis.
Due to the harsh weather conditions and uncultivable soils many Rajasthani men leave for foreign lands in search of occupation and livelihood. They leave their wives, children and families behind and often the separation is a prolonged one. With the settlement of the Kurjan in their locale, the heart of the Rajasthani woman is filled with longing for her parted spouse. The overwhelming emotions take recourse in music and thus are born the Kurjan songs of the region. She entreats these charming birds to look for her beloved in the alien lands and to guide him safely home. Every August as these avian visitors fly in, the woman await the homecoming of her spouse and breaks into a melancholy number when disappointed. Come summer she bids them farewell with a hope that they may meet her loved one and remind him of her sadness and yearning. With the onset of monsoons the rustic damsels wait for the return of her partner with hope that the coming of the Kurjan may bring her beloved back. Kurjan songs are the evergreen essence of Rajasthani folk songs and are sung in all cultural occasions.
