Report: Mahindra Kabira Festival
The festival held in Varanasi from December 13 to 15, 2024, encouraged audiences to cultivate love, empathy and a sense of calm within their hearts
The eighth edition of the Mahindra Kabira Festival, which was held in Varanasi from December 13 to 15, opened with a beautiful Ganga aarti on Guleria Ghat. The delegates watched the sublime choreography of lamps moving in unison to the sounds of prayer, and paid their obeisance to the river that is celebrated in songs and scriptures, poems and legends.
The Carnatic Quartet, with Shreya Devnath on the violin, M Karthikeyan on the nagaswaram, Manikandan Subramanyam on the mridangam and G Silambarasan on the thavil, played the first set for the evening. Their instrumental version of Ud Jaayega Hans Akela — known to many from Kumar Gandharva’s rendition — was wonderful but even more impressive was their presentation of Mallari, described by the violinist as “a traditional piece of music played in South Indian temple processions when the deity is taken out”.
The music, she added, is “meant to reflect the grandeur of the deity”. There could not have been a better way to acknowledge the sacred presence of the Ganga in the lives of Banarasis, many of whom revere her as their mother and begin each day with a holy dip in her waters.
The next act by the Anadi Nagar Collective got audiences grooving to popular Kabir bhajans like Tu Ka Tu, Zara Halke Gaadi Haanko, and Mann Lago Mero Yaar Faqiri Mein. They also sang some quieter bhajans like Hirna, Hoshiyar Rehna Re, and Tu Na Jaane Tera Sahib Kaisa Hai. Consisting of singer-composer Anadi Nagar, pakhawaj player Ruturaj Bhosle, writer Punarvasu, singer-guitarist Tamal Pandey and multi-instrumentalist Mukut Raj Kashyap, the band interspersed poems of Kabir with verses by Nida Fazli and Muktibodh.
Welcoming them to the city where 15th century saint-poet Kabir was born and earned his livelihood as a weaver, Jay Shah — Vice President, Cultural Outreach, Mahindra Group — said, “Kabir’s poetry has been thriving in the folk traditions of India. Our aim is to take his message to people with diverse musical sensibilities, to make it relevant and appealing to people who are more inclined towards Hindustani, Carnatic, rock and other genres of music.”
Instead of working only with singers who have a pre-existing Kabir repertoire, the festival commissions new work. This encourages musicians to immerse themselves in the poetry of Kabir for a few months, make it their own, and develop a fresh set of songs. “Artistically speaking, this is both a challenging and exciting process. Musicians like the sense of novelty. Some even incorporate other Bhakti and Sufi voices they are inspired by,” added Shah.
This was evident over the next two days as bands like Advaita, Fakira and Thaikkudam Bridge went up on stage and gave some magical performances both at Guleria Ghat and Shivala Ghat, making sure that listeners would jump out of their seats and start dancing. Visitors who assumed that Banarasi audiences would be orthodox and unwilling to appreciate contemporary interpretations of Kabir’s poetry were proven wrong.
Advaita’s music, for instance, is a confluence of Indian classical, jazz, rock and electronic music. Their unique take on Kabir with songs like Kar Guzran Garibi Mein, Ghat Ghat Mein Panchhi Bolta, and Laakh Jatan Kar Haari Re Main Toh received thunderous applause.
Chayan Adhikari, vocalist and guitarist from Advaita, said, “Singing by the Ganga is one of those things that you have on your bucket list as a musician. I am overwhelmed. We have sung Baba Bulleh Shah’s verses but Kabir was new for us. We plan to sing his songs more often, even record and release them.” Working on these songs took him back to his school days when Kabir’s couplets were part of the Hindi curriculum. He added, “At the age of 37 now, when I am asking existential questions, Kabir makes more sense than ever before.”
His bandmate Ujwal Nagar, a vocalist and educator, is stunned by the simplicity and directness of Kabir’s utterances. He said, “Kabir mocks both yogis who grow their hair long and mullahs who call the azaan in loud voices because faith is not something that you have to display and be arrogant about. It is personal. You can pray in the silence of your heart.”
Fakira, a band known for singing Baul and Bhatiyali music, complemented renditions of Kabir songs like Mo Ko Kahaan Dhoondhe Re Bande and Do Din Ki Zindagi Do Din Ka Mela with a Bengali qawwali Dilli Te Nizamuddin Aulia Elo written by Hasan Chishti Baul, and songs like Banka Nodi by Brojen Nath Gonshai and Boro Loker Biti Lo by Ratan Kahar.
Among their best was Baare Baare Aar Asha Hobe Na written by Bhaba Pagla, a devotee of Kali. Kunal Biswas, the bassist from Fakira, said, “It is believed that a human birth is extremely rare. It comes after 84 lakh lifetimes. We must make good use of our time here.” Kabir too urges listeners to cherish each breath and not waste time in frivolous pursuits.
Thaikkudam Bridge, a 15-member band that describes its music as a blend of alternative rock with “folk and classical Indian sounds” as well as “progressive, pop, ambient, and electronic textures”, delivered an invigorating performance that had the audience begging for more. While they did a good job with Kabir songs like Ud Jaayega Hans Akela and Naiharva, their rendition of Aigiri Nandini was simply out of the world. It felt incredible to see a rock band presenting a devotional song written by Adi Shankaracharya in praise of Goddess Durga.
The festival line-up included a platter of musical offerings by other musicians such as Yusra Naqvi, Madhup Mudgal, Sawani Mudgal, Deobrat Mishra, and bands like Mithaavin and Sarvatra. Apart from this, delegates had a chance to listen to scholars like Umesh Kabir and Purushottam Agarwal talk about the significance of Kabir’s poetry in today’s times.
Those who were curious about the kind of person Kabir was found some clues in stories shared by Himanshu Bajpai during his performance of a piece called Dastaan-e-Kabir.
Bajpai narrated a story about Kabir’s encounter with a pandit who was extolling the virtues of the waters of the Ganga and their ability to wash away people’s sins. Kabir filled up a vessel with Gangajal and offered it to him. The man was reluctant to accept it because of Kabir’s lower status in the caste hierarchy. As a result, Kabir concluded that the water had been unable to purify the pandit’s mind so it could not be trusted to wash away sins either.
Bajpai told another story about Kabir’s meeting with a maulana who was proud of how pious he was. The man boasted about staying up all night to offer namaz while others slept. Kabir told the maulana that it is better to sleep than to stay awake and speak ill of other people.
Festival delegates were also taken on heritage walks to explore important sites around the Panchganga Ghat, including the Alamgir Masjid, Bindu Madhav Mandir, Gopal Mandir, Tailang Swami Math, and the place where Kabir is said to have met his guru Ramanand. A visit to the Kashi Vishwanath Mandir was also organized for those keen on a darshan.
With the cultural sector waking up to the importance of sustainability, it was good to see the festival teaming up with Skrap, a waste management firm that had volunteers to help delegates segregate wet and dry waste to be sent for recycling or composting. Delicious Banarasi chaat was served in plates made of sugarcane bagasse, which is biodegradable.
Ayad Patel, Operations Executive, Skrap, said, “Events create a lot of waste. More than 90% of it can be saved from landfills by adopting waste reduction and management measures. As we gather at these ancient ghats on the banks of the Ganga, it is our responsibility to keep the place free of litter.” Delegate kits contained reusable bottles to minimise single-use plastics. The festival also had a food donation programme to ensure that no good food was wasted.
The organizers deserve appreciation for introducing new elements each year. This time, four artists (Karnika Bai, Vinni, Alish and Poornima) from the Aravani Art Project — an art collective of trans and cis women — were invited to paint canvases during the festival. They chose the theme “The river that flows in you also flows in me”, drawing attention to the need for inclusion, and made art that emphasized the nourishing and healing qualities of the river.
On a panel discussion with Anubhav Nath, founder director of Ojas Art, Karnika Bai spoke about how art has helped her find the dignity and respect that are often denied to trans women like herself. She said, “People have this rigid idea that hijras should only beg or engage in sex work. It takes them a while to accept that trans people can also be artists.”
Poornima, founder and creative director of Aravani Art Project, who is a cis woman, said, “Whenever I have my head up in the clouds, my trans friends ground me. We were invited to make a mural at the Venice Biennale. I thought it was a really big deal but they were commenting on the lack of masala in Italian pasta, and talking about making rasam.”
The bright colours of their canvases, and their warm energy as a collective, were welcome additions to the festival. They gifted their artwork to the Kabir Chaura Math, built at the spot where Kabir used to live — a place that has managed to preserve its sanctity to this day.
In conclusion, Sanjoy K Roy, Managing Director of Teamwork Arts, the company that produced the festival said, “We hope that people go back from this festival with a sense of calm, with love and empathy in their hearts, and the courage to look within themselves.”
Chintan Girish Modi is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes about books, art and culture. He can be reached @chintanwriting on Instagram and X.
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