A funding proposal
Music for harmony across caste, faith and language. 3 concerts and 2 workshops on 23, 24 and 25 Oct, across four Bengaluru venues.
Talk to us
The festival is underway
Jagriti Theatre, Medai, Sabha BLR and Bangalore Room are confirmed.
The intent
Our broader purpose is music for harmony: creating spaces where people feel a shared humanity beyond identities. Kabir and other poets and saints in this tradition sing of love, longing, equality and fearlessness. By questioning existing social norms, practices and systems, they lead us to imagine a more beautiful future for the planet. That emotional language has the power to soften divisions in a room.
Kabir was a fifteenth-century weaver in Banaras who belonged to neither temple nor mosque, and was claimed by both. Six hundred years on, his verse is still sung by nomadic Muslim singers in the Thar, by Dalit folk singers in Malwa, and by Kannada listeners who hear in him their own Vachanakaras. Very little in Indian culture travels that freely across caste, faith and language.
The Mirs of Pugal, near Bikaner, carry a tradition of Sufiyana Kalam. They sing Ghulam Farid, Bulleh Shah and Sheikh Farid alongside Kabir, Mirabai and Khusro. Once celebrated during the era of princely states, the community now faces a livelihood crisis. This effort supports a declining cultural heritage as living, present and dignified, not as a museum piece.
The music
We are bringing together the poetry of Kabir, Bulleh Shah and other Sufi saints, the Vachanas of Karnataka, and the wandering Baul path. All of it speaks of love, oneness and an openness beyond rigid boundaries.
Bikaner, Rajasthan
A Sufi singer from the deserts of Bikaner, born into the nomadic Mirasi community that has carried this oral tradition for generations. He sings Kabir alongside Bulleh Shah, Baba Farid and the Sindhi and Punjabi Sufi masters, in a voice shaped by desert gatherings rather than concert halls.
Listen
Bengaluru
One of Karnataka's best known voices: singer, composer and theatre actor, trained in Hindustani classical at Banaras and in Sugama Sangeetha under Mysore Ananthaswamy. She carries the Vachanas of the Sharanas into contemporary spaces.
Listen
Chennai
One of the best known contemporary voices in Bhakti, Sufi and folk poetry, blending Carnatic and Hindustani training with guitar and banjo. His album Sunno Bhai brought these songs to a generation of urban listeners.
Listen
Bengaluru
A leading voice in the Bhakti and Kabir repertoire, singing across Hindi, Tamil and Kannada. Known for her long collaboration with Vedanth Bharadwaj, she sings with a warmth that draws a room in.
Listen
Kerala
Kerala's first female Baul musician, trained under Parvathy Baul. She carries the wandering Baul path into contemporary spaces, singing of love, breath and the divine within.
ListenThe city
The ask
We are raising ₹15,00,000 to make the first Bangalore Kabir Festival possible. Every line below is a direct cost. None of it is overhead.
| Item | Cost (₹) |
|---|---|
| Travel and stayArtist groups from Bikaner and Chennai | 1,50,000 |
| Artist feesArtists, accompanying musicians and local artists | 7,00,000 |
| VenuesAcross four confirmed venues | 50,000 |
| ProductionStage setup, sound and recording | 2,00,000 |
| MarketingPrint, digital and on-ground | 3,00,000 |
| MiscellaneousLocal travel, volunteers and food | 1,00,000 |
| Total | 15,00,000 |
Partial support is welcome. A single line item, the artists' travel, one venue, or the recording is enough to move this forward, and we are happy to structure it that way.
Team
Three Bangaloreans and friends who met through folk events and yatras across India. We are not affiliated with any organisation. This is an independent, ground-up effort.
Builds for social impact
Works in technology for the social sector. Has spent years following Kabir and Nirgun singing across Malwa, Rajasthan and Bengaluru, and started this initiative because the music deserves a home in this city.
Techie by profession, explorer by heart
Has attended every yatra he could reach, watching closely what these gatherings do to the social circles around them: who shows up, who stays, and what changes afterwards.
Interior designer
Her work revolves around bringing the best of rural India into the spaces people live and gather in: craft, material, and the hands behind them.
Supported by
