Kabir Project (Bengaluru): Experiences of journeys with Kabir and other Indian mystic poets

The Kabir Project consists of a series of ongoing journeys in quest of Kabir, the 15th-century Indian mystic poet as well as other Bhakti, Sufi, and Baul poets in our contemporary worlds. These journeys inquire into the spiritual and socio-political resonances of mystic poetry through songs, images, and conversations.

The work of the Kabir Project was awarded the Sadbhavana Award by the Vishwagram Trust in Mahua, Gujarat in June 2017 for contributing to interfaith understanding in the country and the Chishti Harmony Award, New Delhi in December 2013.

Initiated by filmmaker Shabnam Virmani in 2002 as an artist-in-residency at the Srishti Institute of Art, Design & Technology in Bangalore, India, the Kabir Project has been housed here ever since, with core contributions being provided by Smriti Chanchani (art & design), Vipul Rikhi (writing & translations), Prashant Parvatneni (project assistance) & Psalm Paul (technical & admin support).

Virmani has been engaged in curating and re-expressing the power of this poetry through documentary films, music CDs, books, urban festivals, rural yatras, workshops, and courses in schools/colleges, and a web archive called Ajab Shahar for over a decade.

www.kabirproject.org