Kabir Festival Mumbai 2012 proposal

A Festival of Music, Song, Film and Discussion

“Dhai Akhar Prem Ke” The Kabir Festival Mumbai!

February 17-19, 2012!

o! The first Kabir festival was held in Mumbai

in January 2011

The Kabir Festival 2011!

o! 20 run up events with individual schools,

colleges, communities and NGOs introduced the

message of Kabir to around 3000 young people

across the city of Mumbai.

o! Coverage by most mainstream newspapers.

o! 56 artists from various parts of India participated.

o! More than 6000 people were touched in one way or the other by the festival

The Kabir Festival 2011!o! 10 public events during the 3 main festival days at 8

different venues in different parts of Mumbai to

make the festival accessible for as many people as

possible.

o! Kabir is the voice telling you to listen to your soul, trusting that and

acting on that trust is the only way to live in this world of today.

o! There is a need to keep alive the voice of Kabir in a world full of

temptation, greed and self destructive hunger for money , power and the

so called prestige & position.

o! The space for Kabir Vani - the open Satsang is a powerful medium to

connect people at the human level and to connect oneself to the inner

voice.

o! We listen to songs of true love that expose our ridiculous posturing. We

walk away humbled by the world view we have been mirrored in. An

experience to cherish and a memory to live by!

Kabir Vani!

o! The answer would be .. “because nothing has changed..!

o! Religious discord, exploitation, hatred, greed, corruption, social

evils ....everything still exists.

o! Though separated by centuries, the society Kabir lived in is quite similar

in nature to the one we live in today.

o! The simple and profound meaning of the pithy couplets, the ever

relevant dohas makes him one of the most frequently quoted poets even

today.

o! The universal relevance of Kabir Vani is due to the fact that human

nature-which he understood so well- continues to remain the same.

Why Kabir Today? !

o! Juxtaposing Kabir with Mumbai creates a sweet irony - This modern metropolis is no different in many ways from Kabir’s Benares ! The

slums rubbing shoulders with the ever sprouting concrete skyscrapers is a

constant divide , but so is the ghetto mentality of the slumbering city.

o! The festival aims to break these boundaries with Satsang. The Festival

is , therefore,

- held in public places

- encourages the spirit of volunteerism

- promotes the values of equality

- ensures the transparency of action

Kabir Festival –the mission

This is a 6-year initiative undertaken by filmmaker

Shabnam Virmani . In 2002 she started traveling with

folk singers in Malwa, Rajasthan and Pakistan in a

quest for the spiritual and socio-political resonances of

the 15th century mystic poet Kabir in our contemporary

worlds.

Four Documentary films and audio recordings of Folk

musicians singing the message of Kabir in different

styles have been the result of the work undertaken by

the Kabir Project and these have formed the basis of the

Kabir Festivals that are being organized in different

parts of India since then.

The Kabir Project

Singers

Prahlad Tipanya is one of the most compelling

folk voices of Kabir in India today who combines

singing and explanation of Kabir in the Malwi

folk style from Madhya Pradesh. He has toured

the US, and in Feb 2008 was felicitated with the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.

Singers!

Mukhtiar Ali is a Mirasi folk

singer from Bikaner and

blends the Rajasthani folk

i d i o m w i t h r e f i n e d

classicism, singing the poetry

of Kabir, Mira and other

Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah.

He made his Europe debut in

July 2007.

Singers!

Mooralala Marwada is a

folk singer from Kutch

district of Gujarat in

western India, and sings

the poetry of Kabir along

with other poets such as

Mira, Ravidas and also the

Sufi Sindhi poet Shah

Abdul Lateef Bhitai.

The Films! Chalo Hamara Des: Journeys with

Kabir and Friends (Dur: 98 min)

This film is a journey in search of

Kabir's "des! or country and

unfolds through the interwoven

narratives of two people from

two very different countries –

Dalit folk singer Prahlad

Tipaniya and North American

scholar Linda Hess

The Films! Kabira Khada Bazar Mein:

Journeys with Sacred and

Secular Kabir (Dur: 94 min)

This film investigates the ironies

and tensions between secular

and sacred Kabir, interweaving

the sacralization of Kabir by the

Kabir Panth with the secular

appropriation of the same poet

by the activist group Eklavya.

Had-Anhad: Journeys with

Ram and Kabir (Dur: 103

min)

This film journeys through

song and poem into the

politics of religion, and finds

a myriad answers on both

sides of the hostile border

between India and Pakistan.

The Films!

Koi Sunta Hai: Journeys with Kumar and Kabir (Dur: 96 min)

This film interweaves the oral folk traditions of Kabir in central India with the intensely personal narrative of the late classical singer Kumar Gandharva.

The Films!

Festival Programme!The Kabir Festival Mumbai 2012 will consist of three days of public events featuring :

o!Kabir renditions by folk Singers along with some explanations of the

poetry being sung.

o!Documentary film screening followed by interactive discussions and

question answer sessions.

o!Talks by eminent speakers, Panel discussions, Poetry reading etc .

"Someone is listening! A guru, a wise one!!

This festival is an opportunity to listen.

To make the connect between Kabir’s words

and our day-to-day acts,

…the social, spiritual and political choices…

we’re all enmeshed in.

The festival is an opportunity for immersion, provocation,

reflection and enjoyment.

It is food for mind and it is food for soul.

.

!Koi sunta hai!"!!sang Kabir, 600 years ago…!

o! The estimated cost of the festival 2012 is Rs.12.00 lacs

o! We propose to raise these funds by contributions from Corporate

houses as well as from Individuals who feel such a festival is

important to strengthen the heart & soul of Mumbai. We also seek

partnerships from various organizations in order to take this festival forward.

o! All contributions will be eligible for exemption under 80G.

Money Matters!

Lead Sponsorship fee – Rs 7.00 lacs Benefits : Branding on all stages/locations ( subject to venue

rules) and on all collaterals including website and the festival

film .

Co-sponsor fee –Rs 3.00 lacs Benefits : Branding on all stages/locations ( subject to venue

rules) and on all collaterals including website .

Supporter - Rs.1.00 lacs

Benefit :Mention on all Collaterals. ( All contributions will be eligible to exemption under 80G)

Sponsorship!

Partnership !

Publicity Partner

o! Print Partner : To handle entire publicity of the festival in the Print media

o! TV Partner :To promote the festival at regular intervals and to provide live coverage of the festival on your channel.

o! Radio Partner: To publicize the festival by means of RJ mentions as well as airing kabir music and interviews of their band.

o! Hoardings and Bus Back Panels: To provide advertizing space to promote the Kabir festival.

o! Digital Media Partners: To publicize the Kabir festival through media screens.

Partnership!Travel Partner

To sponsor the Train tickets for all artists and flight ticket of film

Director and internal transportation of the artist on event days ( 4

SUVs) from 17th to 20th February 2012.

Hospitality Partner

To provide accommodation to all artists (30 nos) from 17th to 20th

February 2012.

Catering Partner

To arrange for food for all artists and up to 10 volunteers during the

three days of the festival.

The Invitation! The festival would be an opportunity for audiences to experience the joy of

Kabir in song , music ,cinema & poetry, while engaging with the radically

transformative power of his poetry.

It would offer a powerful encounter with the highly relevant philosophy of

Kabir, hopefully generating moments of critical self-awareness coupled

with reflections on the current social, moral and cultural fabric of the

society .

For further information please contact

Priti Turakhia - +91 9619881102, [email protected] Falguni Desai - +91 9820380105, [email protected]

Kavita Anand, +91 9821318733, [email protected] www.thekabirfest.com