'Where Did You Come From, Where Are You Going?' - Episode 1 of the film 'Chalo Hamara Des'

Prahlad Singh Tipanya is one of the most popular and respected folk singers of Kabir in the country. A school teacher by profession, Prahladji’s life took a deep and profound turn when he first heard the tambura – the five stringed folk instrument. That became the gateway for him into the world of Kabir, and since then he has been tirelessly sharing the power of Kabir with countless rural, urban and international audiences for over 3 decades. In this opening sequence from the film Chalo Hamara Des, we go with Prahladji into his home turf - the villages of Malwa, Madhya Pradesh - where he has learnt, imbibed and now re-expresses Kabir in profound and inspiring ways. Here we witness his incredible capacity to engage audiences with the poems of Kabir, opening up their meanings in direct, challenging and self-reflexive ways. A school teacher by profession, Prahladji’s life took a deep and profound turn when he first heard the tambura – the five stringed folk instrument. That became the gateway for him into the world of Kabir, and since then he has been tirelessly sharing the power of Kabir with countless rural, urban and international audiences for over 3 decades. Contact Prahlad Singh Tipanya at +91-94250-84096 or his senior troupe member and violin player Devnarayan Saroliya at +91-98064-40481. The film Chalo Hamara Des (Come to My Country) is a journey in search of the des (country) invoked in the poetry of Kabir, and interweaves the stories of two people from two very different countries, Prahlad Tipanya and North American scholar Linda Hess. Where is Kabir’s country? The answer is elusive, as we journey through song and poem into these two lives, brought together in an unlikely friendship by the cross-cultural resonance of Kabir. Chalo Hamara Des is one of 4 films on Kabir made by Shabnam Virmani, filmmaker, singer and director of the Kabir Project, located at the Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology in Bangalore, India. Write to her at thekabirproject@gmail.com. See the full film at    • Chalo Hamara Des: Journeys with Kabir & Fr...  . DVDs of film available at http://www.amazon.in/dp/B00PJTQN4E. Watch the full song that weaves through this sequence – Kahaan Se Aaya Kahaan Jaaoge – when we first recorded it in a live concert by Prahladji at the Syracuse University in USA at    • 'Kahaan Se Aaya Kahaan Jaaoge?' by Prahlad...  . Film Credits: Camera & Direction: Shabnam Virmani Direction & Production Support: Rumah Rasaque & Smriti Chanchani Script & Editing: Shabnam Virmani & Rikhav Desai Songs by: Prahlad Tipanya Sound Recording: P M Satheesh & Rhzude David Sound Mixing: Fireflys Post Sound, Mumbai Research & Concept: Shabnam Virmani & Tara Kini Advisors: Linda Hess, Ashok Vajpeyi, Vidya Rao, Purushottam Aggrawal Translations: Shabnam Virmani & Linda Hess Financial Support: Ford Foundation, New Delhi Produced by: Srishti School of Art, Design & Technology, Bangalore Collection: The Kabir Project Year of Production: 2009 Ajab Shahar is a digital archive of mystic poetry and music drawing from the rich Bhakti and Sufi oral traditions in India and beyond... Explore a world of sung and spoken wisdom at https://ajabshahar.com