KABIR FESTIVAL HELD IN MUMBAI
To honour the great medieval poet and saint Kabir, a nine day long festival from January 14 to 23 was organized in Mumbai.
The festival featured performances by well-known folk artistes singing Kabir’s rich legacy of poems, films about Kabir and his traditions, as well as lectures by noted writers about Kabir’s work. Born in the caste of julahas (weavers), Kabir’s astonishingly wide repertoire of poetry opposed religious orthodoxy and fundamentalism in all its forms while expressing support for the needs of the lower strata of society in an idiom characteristic of eastern U.P. and Bihar. Kabir’s message and its relevance to our time, when fundamentalism is on the rise, was illustrated in the final session of the festival attended by a thousand people. The audience clapped and applauded all the way through four hours of captivating and enthralling musical performances by various folk groups from different parts of India, including Prahalad Tipaniya and his troupe from M.P. and Mukhtiar Ali and his troupe from Rajasthan.
(Reported by Vinod Mubayi, who contributed towards the Festival in memory of his late wife Joan)