On a Kabir yatra with singer-author Vipul Rikhi

On a Kabir yatra

Centuries after Kabir shared his humane philosophy, the mystic poet remains as popular as ever, with many musicians undertaking Kabir yatras. One of them is writer and singer Vipul Rikhi, who passionately shares the soul-stirring works of Kabir with people.

Last year, Vipul launched the book Drunk on Love: An Essential Introduction to the Life, Ideas and Poetry of Kabir. The book delves into Kabir’s life through folklore and poetry, and his vision, which is explored through important ideas such as ‘Jheeni’, ‘Raam’, ‘Guru’, ‘Sahaj’ and ‘Shoonya’.

Vipul has been travelling with the book and performing in different parts of India. Last month, the Goa-based singer was at the Bangalore International Centre for a performance.

Over the years, singing Kabir’s dohas to the sounds of the tanpura for curious listeners, Vipul has discovered Kabir for himself.

“Kabir constantly keeps calling us back to ourselves. We know a few songs here or a few dohas there. When I started singing, I felt the power of what he was saying. He’s constantly urging us to look within to find out what is actually going on,” says Vipul.

Vipul’s association with Kabir began after he joined Shabnam Virmani’s ‘The Kabir Project’ in 2008. That opened up a whole new world and oral folk traditions in different parts of the country. I was with The Kabir Project for six years,” recalls the singer.

In 2018, Vipul conceptualised a concert called ‘Ishq Mastana’. The idea behind the concert was to introduce the 15th century Bhakti-Sufi poet to people through storytelling, commentary, poetry and songs. The songs were rendered in Hindi but the narration was in English to cater to a diverse crowd. “I started researching and came across many stories and legends in the oral tradition. I decided to present Kabir as he is understood in the oral folk tradition. How do people, who sing Kabir, relate to him? That’s the Kabir you find in the book,” says Vipul. The concert paved the way for Drunk on Love. “The audience asked for a book that shares his life story, writings and translations of his poetry,” he adds.