Three concerts. Two workshops. One weekend in October. Six hundred years of songs that refuse to belong to any one religion, caste or languag

Small, hands-on sessions with the artists — the songs, the poetry behind them, and the traditions they come from. Not a lecture; a room where you sing along.

Why we are doing it

Our purpose is music for harmony: creating spaces where people feel a shared humanity beyond identities. Kabir and the saints in this tradition sing of love, longing, equality and fearlessness, and that emotional language has the power to soften divisions in a room.

ढाई आखर प्रेम का, पढ़े सो पंडित होय
Wisdom lies not in words, but in love

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.

It is also an act of preservation. The Mirs of Pugal, near Bikaner, carry a tradition of Sufiyana Kalam that was once celebrated in the era of princely states, and the community now faces a livelihood crisis. Bringing this music to Bengaluru with the stage and the fee it deserves keeps a fragile inheritance living and dignified, not a museum piece.

This is an independent, ground-up effort, not affiliated with any organisation and run entirely pro bono. No one organising it takes a rupee from it.

Why we need your support

These concerts are ticketed, so it is fair to ask why we need donations at all.

A festival like this can be funded in one of two ways: by charging what it actually costs, or by having people who believe in it cover the gap. If we charged what it costs, tickets would price out exactly the audience this music was written for. And if we cut costs instead, the cut always lands on the artists, because they have the least bargaining power.

Your donation lets us avoid both.

• Keeps tickets low, so the room is open to anyone who wants to be in it.
• Pays artists properly. Folk and Sufi musicians are routinely asked to perform for exposure. We are not doing that.
• Lets the festival survive its first year. A first edition that breaks even is a second edition.

How your money will be used

We are raising ₹5,00,000, and every rupee is a direct cost: artist fees for the lead artists, accompanying musicians; travel and stay for the groups coming from Bikaner and Chennai; production— stage, sound and recording across three venues; venues and the workshop space; and marketing. None of it is overhead.

Any amount helps. We will publish where every rupee went after the festival.

The artists

A coming together of North and South, Hindu and Muslim, rural and urban — on the same stage, across one weekend.

Mir Razak Ali - Sufiyana Kalams
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 and Baba Farid, in a voice shaped by desert gatherings rather than concert halls. Bikaner, Rajasthan.

Vedanth Bharadwaj - Kabir and Nirgun 
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 whole generation of urban listeners. Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

MD Pallavi — Vachanas of the Sharanas

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 into contemporary spaces. Bengaluru, Karnataka.

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Gurupriya Atreya — Bhakti and Kabir

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 rather than performs at it. Bengaluru, Karnataka.

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Santhi Priya — Baul and Kabir Songs

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. Kerala.

Let's give this city its Kabir

We seek your love. We seek your support. Come to a concert, sit in a workshop, or simply help someone else be in the room when the first note lands.

For anything you would like to ask us — about the festival, the artists, or where the money goes — call or WhatsApp us on 8668973044. We would be glad to talk.