Singer-author Vipul Rikhi, who has been performing Kabir’s songs in numerous components of India.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Centuries after Kabir shared his humane philosophy, the mystic poet stays as well-liked as ever, with many musicians enterprise Kabir yatras. One of them is author and singer Vipul Rikhi, who passionately shares the soul-stirring works of Kabir with folks.
Last 12 months, Vipul launched the guide Drunk on Love: An Essential Introduction to the Life, Ideas and Poetry of Kabir. The guide delves into Kabir’s life by way of folklore and poetry, and his imaginative and prescient, which is explored by way of vital concepts comparable to ‘Jheeni’, ‘Raam’, ‘Guru’, ‘Sahaj’ and ‘Shoonya’.
Vipul has been travelling with the guide and performing in numerous components of India. Last month, the Goa-based singer was on the Bangalore International Centre for a efficiency.
Vipul’s affiliation with The Kabir Project opened up a entire new world and oral folks traditions in numerous components of the nation.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Over the years, singing Kabir’s dohas to the sounds of the tanpura for curious listeners, Vipul has found Kabir for himself.
“Kabir constantly keeps calling us back to ourselves. We know a few songs here or a few dohas there. When I started singing, I felt the power of what he was saying. He’s constantly urging us to look within to find out what is actually going on,” says Vipul.
Vipul’s affiliation with Kabir started after he joined Shabnam Virmani’s ‘The Kabir Project’ in 2008. That opened up a entire new world and oral folks traditions in numerous components of the nation. I used to be with The Kabir Project for six years,” recollects the singer.
In 2018, Vipul conceptualised a live performance known as ‘Ishq Mastana’. The thought behind the live performance was to introduce the 15th century Bhakti-Sufi poet to folks by way of storytelling, commentary, poetry and songs. The songs had been rendered in Hindi however the narration was in English to cater to a various crowd. “I started researching and came across many stories and legends in the oral tradition. I decided to present Kabir as he is understood in the oral folk tradition. How do people, who sing Kabir, relate to him? That’s the Kabir you find in the book,” says Vipul. The live performance paved the best way for Drunk on Love. “The audience asked for a book that shares his life story, writings and translations of his poetry,” he provides.
Singer-author Vipul Rikhi throughout a efficiency.
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement
Dedicated web site
With the same intent of showcasing the life and mission of mystic poets, Vipul created a web site known as ‘Ishq Fakiri’. It is populated with his performances and songs by Kabir, Meera, Baba Bulle Shah, Gorak Nath, Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Sattar Das.
Each music has been introduced with full lyrics and translations in English.
“These are not just songs; they carry a deep message. And so, whenever I present concerts, I always explain the lyrics before singing and people find that really helpful. So, this website, this album is also a similar effort,” explains Vipul.
Vipul says Kabir’s layered poetry revealed itself to him over time. He cites the instance of his well-known music ‘Mohe sun sun aave hasi, paani mein meen pyaasi’ which suggests ‘I laugh when I hear that the fish is thirsty in water’.
“What he says is that even though we are surrounded by love and joy, all human beings experience this sense of incompleteness, which is what drives us to look for this or that. After I discovered the deeper meaning, the song came alive for me. The way I sang it also changed the way I connected with it,” says the singer-author.
Some of Vipul’s favorite Kabir songs are ‘Moko kahan tu dhundhe re bande’ and ‘Chadariya jheeni re jheeni’, which describes the journey that a finely-knit fabric goes by way of. In this case, the material is an allegory for a human physique that has been created with care by the almighty.
It’s attention-grabbing that Vipul’s concert events might be hosted at dwelling in addition to in an auditorium.
“That’s part of the whole point, because Kabir was a man of the people. He was a weaver who lived in Varanasi — he had a wife and children, and he lived an everyday life. Kabir talks a lot about being grounded. And that’s the spirit in which I like to share Kabir as well,” says Vipul.