[Reader-list] Kumar Gandharva and Kabir: Linda Hess in conversation with U R Ananthamurthy - Jan 17, Bangalore

[Chintan Girish Modi]

From
http://www.kabirproject.org/events/kumar%20gandharva%20and%20kabir%20book%20reading%20with%20linda%20hess

  Dr Linda Hess in conversation with Dr U R Ananthamurthy will read excerpts
from her book *Singing Emptiness: Kumar Gandharva performs the poetry of
Kabir* followed by a discussion with the audience. The book includes a
substantial introductory essay, bilingual texts of 30 songs, and a CD with
selected songs by Kumar Gandharva along with contributions by Dr U R
Ananthamurthy and Ashok Vajpeyi.

This will be followed by a screening of the film *Koi Sunta Hai: Journeys
with Kumar and Kabir* by Shabnam Virmani. Interweaving the folk music
traditions of the mystic poet Kabir with the life and music of the late
classical singer Kumar Gandharva, this film searches for that elusive sound,
that jhini si awaaz, Kabir urges us to hear. Where does it resonate, that
subtle sound? Journeying between folk and classical, oral and written, rural
and urban expressions of this 15th century mystic poet of north India, the
film finds moments of both continuity and rupture between these
disparate worlds.

We warmly invite one and all to an evening with Kumar Gandharva and Kabir
at Suchitra.

Time: 5 pm onwards

Venue:

Suchitra,
36, B.V Karanth Road
Banashankari II Stage, Bangalore

In case of any queries please feel free to call 080-26711785

Dr.Linda Hess is a scholar, writer, and a lover of Kabir. She began her
travels to India in the 1960s and has been studying and translating the
poetry of Kabir since the 1970s. In the current century she has also been
singing it, as she has focused on oral and musical traditions of Kabir in
North India. Her publications and present research include *The Bijak of
Kabir*, (New York, Oxford University Press, 2002 - with Shukdev Singh, orig.
1983) considered by many to be one of the best translations of Kabir into
English; *Singing Emptiness: Kumar Gandharva Performs the Poetry of
Kabir*(Calcutta, Seagull Books, 2009); and a book in progress,
*Bodies of Song: Kabir Oral Traditions and Performative Worlds in Northern
India*. She has been an advisor to The Kabir Project since 2003 and has been
an invaluable friend and resource person. Somehow during the shooting and
editing, Linda became a featured character in *Chalo Hamara Des/ Come to my
country: Journeys with Kabir and Friends*. She is a Senior Lecturer in the
Department of Religious Studies at Stanford University and is Co-Director of
Stanford’s Center for South Asia.