Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein - A Rock Opera by Dastaan LIVE (Promo 2)

About Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein:

Kabir’s message of love and unity is vitally important in the current discordant times and we feel it important to revive the music of M.K. Raina's seminal play 'Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein', not just as an archive but in a new vibrant format that can reach out to new audiences.

This show re-interprets the music of the play, retaining its core aesthetics and updating the arrangement and instrumentation for modern sensibilities, working with some of the best musicians and theatre practitioners in Delhi. 'Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein - a Rock Opera' premiered at the Mahinda Kabira Festival 2021 and was a resounding success.

‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein’, an iconic play written by the renowned author Bhishen Sahni, is a fictionalised account of the life of Kabir Das, the 15th-century saint-poet, and explores his philosophy while critiquing societal issues like communalism and the caste system.

The play was brought to life by noted theatre director, actor, and cultural activist M.K. Raina in 1982. The performance was so successful that it ran for over a decade. One of the most striking things about this performance was how the poetry of Kabir was brought to life by the brilliant music composed by the Late Panchanan Pathak. Through meticulous research, M.K. Raina incorporated many rare verses of Kabir (and Raidas), many of which had not been sung before.

M.K. Raina and Baan G (Dastaan LIVE) came together to reinterpret the visionary music of the play resulting in the creation of 'Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein - a RocK Opera'

Creators:

M.K. Raina:

M.K. Raina is a renowned Indian theatre personality, actor and cultural activist. He graduated in 1970 from N.S.D. with the Best Actor award. He has directed over a 100 plays across the world, directed fiction and non-fiction films and conducted numerous workshops across the country. He has been part of both alternative and mainstream cinema, having acted in films like 27 Down, Genesis, Satah Se Uthta Aadmi, Taare Zameen Par to name a few. He has been awarded the Sanskriti Award for Theatre (1980), Best Director (Sahitya Kala Parishad, 1982) for Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein, Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman (1986-1987), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1995), B.V. Karanth Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre (National School of Drama, 2008), etc, Raina is currently working on his first book, a memoir titled ‘Before I Forget’.

Performed by Dastaan Live:

Dastaan LIVE, an art-rock collective that merges the realms of sound and visuals to offer a truly unique experience to its audiences. The inaugural show of the project, titled 'Surviving Democracy,' was conceptualized by Anirban Ghosh (Baan G), Nikhil Vasudevan, and Sumant Balakrishnan in 2016. Since the beginning of 2018, Dastaan LIVE has established itself as a distinctive presence within the realm of alternative arts. Continuously pushing boundaries, the project strives to enhance audience immersion, fostering dialogues, interpretations, and, above all, inspiring critical thinking.

Concept: Baan G (Dastaan LIVE) + M.K Raina
Creative Producer: Anirban Ghosh (Baan G)
Executive Producer: W.I.P Labs
Director: M.K Raina

Musicians | Performers:

Anirban Ghosh (Bass Guitar / Spoken Word )
Anant Raina (Percussions)
Nikhil Vasudevan (Drums/Vocals)
Funkesh (Drums/Mr. Chicken)
Sudheer Rikhari (Spoken Word / Vocals)
Jagtinder Singh Sidhu (Hindustani Vocals)
Mohammed Faheem (Spoken Word / Vocals)
Anjali Raina (Spoken Word / Vocals)
Amar Sukesh (Guitars)
Pranay Verma (Guitars)

Visual Design, Documentation, Projection & Stage Design: Atreyo Roy / Ikroop Sandhu / Anant Raina / Padmanabhan

Lights Design: Ankit Pandey / Abhinav Khetarpal / Bharavi

Live Sound: M Krishna Rao

Artwork & Poster Design: Micky Patel / Khwaab Tanha Collective

Video Credits:

Promo edited by: Anant Raina

We would like to Thank:
Eemon Roy
Pranshu Shrimali
Subodh
Akila Jayaraman
Shambhavi Singh
Akhil Wable
SAHMAT
IHC
Trialogue Studio
MMB (New Delhi)

Past Collaborators/Musicians:

Belen Ojeda Rojas (Clarinet)
Abhimanyu Pratap (Keyboards)
Subhanshu Singh (Guitars)
Sumant Balakrishnan (Guitars)
Vedi Sinha (Vocals)
Pakhi Sinha (Vocals)

Produced by W.I.P. Labs

W.I.P. LABS or Work In Progress LABS is an artist collective and an art platform that supports the alternative art scene - A platform that is run by artists and for artists in an attempt to promote emerging contemporary voices across myriad art forms.

W.I.P. aims to curate, produce and encourage work that plays with prevailing notions of art without compromising on criticality and aesthetics. At W.I.P., we are committed to finding new ways to foster the creative spirit by creating the kind of cultural space we believe is needed in present times - fearless, transparent, encouraging, socially engaged, and collaborative.