Mander brothers, two young boys in early 20s, are carrying forward a folk instrument art that was once the cornerstone of Mela Jarag Da. Their family has been at it for almost five decades now.Jaskanwar Singh (24) and Nawkanwar Singh (21) might be performing in air-conditioned (AC) halls and the guests might be dressed vastly different, but the brothers imbibe the same finesse which their father and grandfather once had when they mesmerised audience while sitting under banyan tree canopies.Mela Jarag Da still has a loyal following, with the elderly across the state reminiscing good-old days while listening to the performances.Jaskanwar and Nawkanwar have learnt folk instruments dhad sarangi, do tara and toomba, along with the art forms used by kavishars, dhadis and folk singers.Their father, Navjot Mander Jarag, says he imbibed elements of folk instrument music from his father and guest artistes camping at their house, but did not adopt the art as full time profession.“But seeing instinctive traits in both our sons, we decided to support them in promoting art and culture. This way, they can serve the society by spreading awareness about social evils, such as drug abuse, illiteracy and gender bias,” adds Jarag.Though Mander brothers initially learned fundamentals from their family, they consider Ustad Shadi Khan from Malerkotla and Karanveer Kaler from Canada as their mentors.Nawkanwar will be fourth postgraduate in the family that has given their village — Jarag —three sarpanches, including a woman.With special focus on education of girls, the family runs a senior secondary school. The school has special facilities for deserving and needy students.Navjot, who is chairperson of ZENCO Limited — a private limited firm — has worked extensively for preservation of environment by promoting use of non-conventional energy sources.