A SOUL OF ASIA PROGRAM
Asia Society in association with the Indo - American Art Council (IAAC) and South Asian Journalists Association (SAJA) Present
JOURNEYS WITH KABIR
March 20/21, 2009 |
| This multidisciplinary exploration of Kabir will include films, a lecture, and a performance by Prahlad Singh Tipanya and Musicians. Kabir
was a great mystical poet of 15th-century North India - still enormously popular and influential. A
provocative and challenging figure who can’t be pinned down by any religious label, he is admired
by Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and secularists. His presence today is sought in multiple social,
religious, and political locations, and in vibrantly diverse forms of music. |
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Friday, March 20, 2009 • 7:00 P.M.
Film: Chalo Hamara Desh (“Come to My Country”)
Directed by Shabnam Virmani (2008/98 min./DVD)
This film is a journey in search of Kabir’s country (desh), and unfolds through the interwoven
narratives of two people from two very different countries - Dalit folk singer Prahlad Tipanya and
North American scholar Linda Hess. We enter the world of Kabir through journeys into the
personal and public lives of these two individuals, brought together in an unlikely friendship
through the amazing universality and cross-cultural resonance of Kabir. As their journeys unfold,
the filmmaker herself becomes part of the network of friendships sprung by Kabir. Followed by a
discussion with Shabnam Virmani. |
Saturday, March 21, 2009 • ALL DAY
2:00 pm - Film: Had-Anhad ("Bound-Unbound”)
Directed by Shabnam Virmani (2008/105 min./DVD)
Kabir defied the boundaries between Hindu and Muslim, refusing to be labeled himself and
sharply criticizing sectarianism. His name and upbringing were Muslim but his poetry often uses
Hindu concepts and Hindu names for God, especially Ram. For most Indians, Ram is the widely
revered Hindu god and hero of the epic Ramayana. This film is a journey in search of the Ram
invoked in Kabir’s poetry, encountering singers and lay people in India and Pakistan, probing the
forces of history and politics that have created disputatiously diverse Rams, while also spawning
many Kabirs. |
4:00 pm - Panel Discussion: Kabir’s Legacy and Relevance Today
A discussion on the historic Kabir and his contemporary resonance today. Kabir was a spiritual
seeker, sharp social critic and icon for speaking to truth and power. He is claimed by various
groups– Hindu, Muslim and Sikh. The panel brings together four experts on the topic including
Linda Hess (Stanford University), Gustav Niebuhr (Syracuse University), and Shabnam Virmani
(Sristi School of Art and Design) to discuss the complexity of Kabir. |
8:00 pm - Performance: Prahlad Singh Tipanya
Prahlad Singh Tipanya, acclaimed Indian folksinger takes the stage at the Asia Society to share
some of Kabir’s poetry through song. He has become recognized for his rare talent, passion and
insight as an exponent of Kabir’s music and meanings and in 2008 he received the prestigious
Sangeet Natak Akademi award for music. Tipanya represents a stream of creativity renowned in
India for its introspection and commitment to acts of devotion. He is accompanied by four other
musicians playing the tambura, kartal, manjira, dholak, kartal, harmonium and violin. |
| Soul of Asia is made possible by Harold and Ruth Newman. The tour of Prahlad Singh Tipanya made possible by Indian Council Cultural Relations. |
The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is a 501©3 not-for-profit arts organization passionately dedicated to promoting, showcasing and building an awareness of Indian artists in the performing arts, visual arts, and literary arts. All donations to the IAAC are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law.
Information: Indo-American Arts Council Inc,
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Registration
Friday, March 20,
2009• 7:00 P.M.
$7 Asia Society & IAAC Members /
Students with ID /
Seniors;
$11 Nonmembers
Saturday, March 21,
2009• ALL DAY
$16 Asia Society & IAAC
/ SAJA Members / Students
with ID / Seniors;
$20 Nonmembers
At the Asia Society
725 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10021
For tickets, call the
Asia Society box office
at (212) 517-ASIA
or visit https://
tickets.asiasociety.org
No cancellations,
exchanges or refunds.
For information, visit
our website at
www.asiasociety.org |
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