'How many remember Ghalib, Faiz, Kabir and Tagore'

In our special series on the India You Didn't Know, eminent painter S H Raza remembers Indian greats Ghalib, Tagore, Faiz and Kabir -- and lauds our inheritance of different forms of Indian classical music.

We Indians have inherited a rich cultural heritage which demands that we study it, understand it and be worthy of it. But when one sees objectively what is happening today, I feel that it is quite a disaster. We are not able to treasure what a truly remarkable heritage we have inherited, at least a majority have failed to do so.

I have stayed in Europe for about 60 years and now I am very happy to have come back home this year. I still cherish fond memories of my childhood in Madhya Pradesh, where my father was a forest officer, and I held a close bond with the tribals there.

I also love travelling to the Ajanta and Ellora caves. But today, I feel a lot of people get carried away with petty and inconsequential things in life. We should go back to our roots and study the Bhagwad Gita, Ramayana, the Bible and Quran. It is not merely about wearing a cross or a kurta pyjama.

How many of us can recall the truly great Hindi and Urdu writers and poets? How many of us remember the works of Ghalib and Faiz, Tagore and Kabir? Not many, I fear.

Unfortunately today, I feel the public at large are more focussed and interested in the things that are so superficial; money is not everything. Yes, one should have it, but it is never the objective of art, religion or culture.

Full report here Rediff

The story thus far...

Seasoned author Joginder Paul shares the crests and troughs of Urdu in Delhi, the city of immigrants

It is difficult not to like Joginder Paul, the silver-haired 85-year-old author, much hailed and translated. Measured words, generous smiles, one moment he comes across as a family patriarch on a relaxed late summer afternoon: a cotton kurta on his body, a cigarette placed between his fingers and a mop of hair that constantly demands attention. Next moment he is a scholar whose every sentence comes cloaked with words of wisdom. Sitting in his unpretentious study in South Delhi, Paul has a black-and-white painting of Ghalib on his right, and Saadat Hasan Manto peers from a calendar just behind him even as Krishna keeps a silent watch. There is Kabir too, another painting reminding us of the varied hues of the gentleman's tastes. This Sunday, he heads to Aurangabad, where 500 of his admirers and former students (Paul was college principal for over a decade there) gather to felicitate him on Gratitude Day.

Predictably enough he is on the ball from the first sentence. “I am a Punjabi who speaks Punjabi at home. I read and taught English in college for a living, and write in Urdu.” Paul, clearly, has the talent for making anomalies sound not just normal but also desirable. Pratibha India has just reproduced a story he wrote in the 1970s, but Paul is in no mood to wallow in nostalgia. “Nostalgia is natural at my age, but I don't bank upon the past. Nostalgia makes you feel old. Courage to play the fool makes me feel young.”

Full report here Hindu

Lend an ear to all the Kabirs out there

It seems there are many Kabirs out there. It’s a bit baffling, given that not much is known about the life of the late-15th, early-16th-century mystic immortalised through his songs. His birth, parentage, upbringing and faith have for long been matters of fierce debate among academicians. Of a more recent vintage is his appropriation by diverse sets of people.

The poet who defied categorisation is today a rallying point among jhola-swinging anti-communalists, guru-seeking devotees, head-shaking classical concert-goers, and even a sect that calls itself the Kabir Panth.

In his songs, Kabir refuses to draw a line between ‘Bismil’ and ‘Bishambhar’. He rubbishes man-made divides, draws the divine closer to the devotee, and instructs on meditative methods. As such, many of his ideas recur among sects as far-flung as the Nathpanthis, Ramanandis, Sahajiyas, Bauls, Sufis, Sikhs and the Nirguns.

“That’s the beauty of Kabir,” says Shabnam Virmani, who has been leading the Kabir Project at Bangalore’s Srishti School of Art, Design and Technology for seven years. She is aware of the distortions that occur when various groups “own and inhabit” the works, as well as “the beauty of an oral tradition” that blends across divides.

Full report here Hindustan Times

613th birth anniversary of Kabir celebrated

More than 2,000 Kabirpanthis, followers of 15th century devotional poet Kabir Das, gathered here Saturday to celebrate his 613th birth anniversary or 'praktyotsava (appearance in human form)' of the saint.

The one-day event at the Soor Sadan auditorium here included a satsang and recital of his 'dohe (couplets)' to the accompaniment of Kabiri musical instruments like 'Khanjri', 'dholak', 'chimta', 'manjeera', 'jhanjh', 'harmonium' and 'tamboora'.

According to Rajendra Prasad, president of the organising committee, the followers of Kabir are both Hindus and Muslims and follow different life-styles and traditions.

'Kabir criticised the dogmatic follies associated with religions, hitting out against kings and caste leaders of his time,' Prasad said.

Kabir's 'dohe' have survived as traditional wisdom for more than 500 years, producing music in countless local dialects and regional styles, he said.

Full report here Sify

A trio of aces

He is credited with presenting three of India’s greatest cultural and religious icons—Tulsidas, Kabeer and Vivekananda—on stage. His mono acts, staged in venues from Mumbai to Miami and Surat to Singapore, have earned him plaudits. Meet writer-director-actor-composer Shekhar Sen, who’s completed over 500 shows of his three plays worldwide.

The plays, scripted after months of research, using authentic sources, not just explode many myths about the iconic figures but have even earned flak for Sen.

When he first presented, in 1998, Tulsi, which is about the poet who penned Lord Ram’s lyrical biography Shree Ram Charit Manas, the Ram mandir-Babri masjid movement was at its peak. “Many thought the sangh parivar had propped me up to do this play. I tried telling people it was not about Ram, but about his biographer, an ardent devotee,” recalls Sen.

Full report here Times of India 

Kabir Kala Manch creates awareness through dramatics

For Kabir Kala Manch art is much more than a medium of entertainment. It’s a tool to denounce injustice, mobilise the oppressed, prepare them for struggle, create consciousness and bring about positive change.

The manch, which is a group of students and professionals, has been making people aware on various social issues through their forceful shahiri and street plays in Mumbai.

The group comprises writers, composers and talented performers who impress the audience with their thoughtful compositions and presentations.

The Gujarat riots in 1992 inspired the artistes to come together and use their art for awareness. Drawing inspiration from Kabir’s compositions, with social messages, they chose to name their group after the sant who has commented on various issues in his dohas.

Full report here DNA

UI to celebrate Kabir legacy

"Kabir Lives!," a festival of events celebrating the legacy of the 15th century weaver-poet Kabir, will take place Thursday and Friday, April 16 and 17 in Iowa City and on the University of Iowa campus. The festival features five folk musicians from India, a documentary filmmaker and a noted scholar and translator.

"Kabir was a radical mystic from a low-caste community in North India, whose songs challenged both Hindus and Muslims to move beyond their prejudices," said Phil Lutgendorf, a professor in the UI Department of Asian and Slavic Languages in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences ( CLAS ) and the South Asian Studies Programme co-director. "He is still enormously popular today and his presence can be found in multiple social, religious and political locations. His poems are quoted in everyday speech and appear in vibrantly diverse forms of music."

Linda Hess of Stanford University, a scholar and translator of Kabir, has organized an American tour by a group of celebrated Kabir folksingers and an award-winning documentary filmmaker.
The tour's visit to Iowa includes the two-day program in Iowa City.

A film screening of Had-Anhad: Bound-Unbound: Journeys with Ram and Kabir will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday, April 16 in 3505 Seamens Center on the University of Iowa campus. The film is a documentary that features performances by contemporary Kabir singers in both India and Pakistan. Virmani will answer questions following the screening.

The festival continues at 4 p.m. on Friday, April 17, with a book reading and conversation with Hess at Prairie Lights Bookstore. Hess will discuss and read from her celebrated translation of Kabir's Bijak and her forthcoming book, Singing Emptiness. At 8 p.m. on Friday, there will be a concert by Prahlad Singh Tipaniya and Party at Trinity Episcopal Church.
All events are free and open to the public.

The singers, Prahlad Singh Tipanya and Party, hail from a village in the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh State. A member of India's Dalit, former "untouchable" community, Tipanya has gained wide recognition as an exponent of Kabir's music and message. In March of 2008, he received the prestigious Sangeet Natak Akademi, a national foundation for the arts award for his achievements.

Tipanya's group, accompanied by Hess, toured many American cities and campuses in 2003, to great acclaim. This year's return tour was inspired by the completion of filmmaker Shabnam Virmani's four documentaries on the radical saint poet's legacy: Journeys with Kabir, and by the imminent release of Hess' new book on the Kabir musical tradition, Singing Emptiness. Virmani and Hess are accompanying the five musicians.

Sponsors for the Iowa City festival include the following: UI South Asian Studies Program; UI International Programs; the UI Department of Religious Studies and UI School of Music, both in the UI CLAS; Trinity Episcopal Church, Grinnell College, Kala Mandali: Friends of South Asian Arts; the Singh Foundation; and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

For more information visit http://international.uiowa.edu/ or call 319-353-2700. International Programs is part of the UI Office of the Provost.
STORY SOURCE: University of Iowa News Services, 300 Plaza Centre One, Suite 371, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2500
MEDIA CONTACTS: Philip Lutgendorf, 319-335-2157, philip-lutgendorf@uiowa.edu; Meena Khandelwal, 319-335-2496, meena-khandelwal@uiowa.edu; Kelli Andresen, 319-335-2026, kelli-andresen@uiowa.edu