1. “Dhai Akhar Prem Ke”
The Kabir Festival Mumbai!
A Festival of Music, Song, Film and Discussion
February 17-19, 2012!

2. The Kabir Festival 2011!
o! The first Kabir festival was held in Mumbai
in January 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.

3. 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! 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

4. Kabir Vani!
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!

5. Why Kabir Today? !
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.

6. Kabir Festival –the mission
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

7. The Kabir Project
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.

8. 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.

9. Singers!
Mukhtiar Ali is a Mirasi folk
singer from Bikaner and
blends the Rajasthani folk
idiom with refined
classicism, singing the poetry
of Kabir, Mira and other
Sufi poets like Bulleh Shah.
He made his Europe debut in
July 2007.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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.

13. The Films!
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.

14. 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.

15. 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 .

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

17. Money Matters!
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.

18. Sponsorship!
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)

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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, prititurakhia22@gmail.com
Falguni Desai - +91 9820380105, falguni.desai@ddcm.in
Kavita Anand, +91 9821318733, kavita63@gmail.com
www.thekabirfest.com