“through the act of living, the discovery of oneself is made concurrently with the discovery of the world around us. . ."

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Prahlad Tipanya sings Kabir






Listen to him, eyes closed, music system in full blast.

Mat kar maaya ko ahankaar

Mat kar kaaya ko abhiman

Kaaya gaar se kaachi, jaise oas raa moti

Jhonka pavan ka lag jaaye, jhapka pavan ka lag jaaye

Kaaya dhool ho jaasi…

Don’t be deluded by Maya,

Don’t take pride in the body.

It’s as fragile as clay, like a drop of dew.

A blast of wind, just a little gust,

And the body will turn to dust!


Listen to the thambura,

sway your head, sway it to and fro, back and forth

Listen to the manjira,

watch your fingers drumming

watch your shoulders jerking,

Listen to the Dholak,

spasms break out -

energy spews from your body-

it’s the Deliverance ! - dance, dance!



Yunhi man samjhave’, tu jhutti man samjhave’

Bina khoj kuchch bhed na pave’

Dharo viradha janam gamave’

Sun saayar gyani, tu kayi man samjhave’?


Here’s how you center your mind.

Search for the secret, don’t waste your life.

Listen, wise wanderer,

How will you steer your mind?

Jo paanihari paani chaale’, baedo bhari ne khar laave’

Hale' dole' baat banaave’, par surat bevada mein laave’

Sun saayar gyani, tu kayi man samjhave’.

The way a water-bearer walks to the well,

Fills her post and brings it home,

She swings along, chatting on her way,

Her awareness fixed on the pot.

Listen wanderer

Here’s how you center the mind.

Listening to Kabir, listening to Prahlad…

****** Balachandran V, Trivandrum, 09-11-2010

Courtesy: Kabir in Malwa – Folk songs of Kabir by Prahald Tipanya & Kaluram Bamaniya

Thanks to Shabnam Virmani, Vidya Rao,

www.kabirproject.org. www.scholarswithoutborders.in

PLEASE also see http://mytravelsmylife.blogspot.com/2010/11/someone-is-listening.html

16 comments:

  1. "A blast of wind, just a little gust,And the body will turn to dust!" How fragile life is. :)

    I am adding Kabir to my "to be bought" books list!The second link doesn't open up for me. :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. A love song

    "Sayeen Bin Darad Karejae Hoye
    Din Nahin Chain Raat Nahin Nindia, Kase Kahun Dukh Hoye!
    Aadhi Ratia Pichle Paharva, Sayeen Bin Taras Rahi Soye
    Kahat Kabir Suno Bhai Sadho,Sayeen Mile Sukh Hoye"

    "Without the beloved, the heart just aches
    Distraught during days, sleepless in nights
    To who shall I narrate my empty plight!
    In the middle of night, the hours of ambrosia
    I sleep but with a yearning heart
    Says Kabir - listen my friends
    I shall rejoice, meeting Love alone."

    ReplyDelete
  3. I am here after a month or so. As usual each of your posts made me think a lot.
    The words "Don't take pride in your body" of this post and reading the post Brooding over blogs truly gives out some important values.

    ReplyDelete
  4. @Jyothi:
    Penguin has brought out a book on Kabir. Check it out. Sorry about the link; it is scholarswithoutborders.in. I have corrected in the post.

    @Sumi: The words might seem serious, but the folk rendition is easy on your ears and mind.

    @Doc: The 'nirgun' or the formless divinity of Kabir is worth looking into.

    @Subu: Welcome back! :)

    @Sujata: The folk tradition of Indian music is fascinating. Especially the Malwi tradition.
    Are you familiar with Baul?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Reminds us how fragile and weak we are....Awesome! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  6. prahlad ..i will surely listen and give you a feed back sir..thanks for letting me know.:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. @Insignia: If you have an ear for folk music, there is nothing like it to lighten the heaviness of your mind. In simple language, with simple musical instruments and unpretentious singing, they take you to fields of indescribable joy...

    @Raji: You can listen to free downloads. If you are not familiar with regional varieties of Hindi like me, I would suggest you log on to www.scholarswithoutborders.in and go to Kabir project - their CDs come along with beautifully designed books with lyrics both in Hindi and English.

    ReplyDelete
  8. some time back there was a brilliant documentry called the K project on NDTV documentary. i couldnt see the whole thing but it was dazzling in bits abnd pieces. ever since ive been hunting for kabir's poetry in book shops but have failed to get any... :( the documentry featured this singer singing kabir 'dohes' .. in heart rending notes...unforgettable. i am itching to get my hands on it...

    ReplyDelete
  9. @K: Check your mail. And for the books-
    1. Kabir - The Weaver's Songs - Vinay Dharwadker -Penguin Classics. Rs.399/-
    2.Saint Kabir- Mystic Saints for India:4.Books for All, New Delhi. Rs.50/-

    Great books.

    See my post 'Someone is listening'. It is about the docu you saw in bits.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Its like food for the soul. I watched Prahladji on ndtv. I fell in love with his music. Our ancestors are from UP THAT IS WHY OUR SOUL LOVES HIS MUSIC. I am trying buy cds online

    Nasmasthe

    Prhladji on ndtv.

    ReplyDelete
  11. ram kewal prem pyara janan le so janan hara kahe kabir wa ghar chalo jaha kaal na jayi kabir saab ki har baat me uchai thi lekin samjega wo jo naam ka bhedi hoo ga koi birla samjhega aap ki baat ko kabira ya sansar me bhati bhati ke loog sabse hil mil chaliyo jese nadi nav sanjog satguru ke mahima to bahut uchi hoti hai meri akal kam nahi karti me to bahut chota hu aap ki baat mere paale padi bahut bahut shukriya janab akhir me yahi kahunga ki aap kafi aacha kar rahe hoo satguru ke daya bager kuch nahi hoota uski daya aap par kafi hai lage rehna jana nahi aap jese log hi to wo saadh hai jo satguru ke paaas le jayenge or satguru ke baare me batayenge jay guru dev

    ReplyDelete
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