Festival of Kabir, Feb 27 - March 1st, 2009, Bengaluru, India

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News Bengaluru, India - 30th March 2009

Greetings from the Kabir Project team in Bangalore. I am writing to report to you the successful completion of the Festival of Kabir in Bengaluru between Feb 23-Mar 1, in which 10 Kabir artists of folk, classical and Sufi traditions from India and Pakistan performed to packed audiences at the 1300-seater Sophia High School auditorium and a range of satellite locations around the city of Bengaluru.
We are also delighted to report that through intense lobbying and follow ups by our team and with help from friends in Delhi, we secured the visas for the two Paksitani artists to be with us, and that lent a special cross-border message of love and solidarity to the whole event.

The four Kabir documentaries were screened along with the film produced by Madanjeet Singh, Goodwill Ambassador and founder of South Asia Foundation, "The Oral and Intangible Heritage of South Asia", at the Indian Institute of Management, the National Centre for Biological Sciences, the Suchithra Film Society, 1, Shanti Road Studio Gallery and the central venue of Sophia High School during the event.
Along with student art exhibits and speaker sessions, it was a truly collaborative effort by almost twenty partner organizations, and the response by our audiences and the media has been completely overwhelming.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the South Asia Foundation for its support in helping organize this event, which was timely and deeply valued. I would like to extend a warm personal message of thanks to Mr. Madanjeet Singh, Mr. Mani Shankar Aiyar and Mrs. Syeda Hameed for placing faith in this project and initiative.

Thank you for support and looking forward to deeper collaborations,

With warm regards,
Shabnam Virmani

PS : SAF publications : The Sasia Story, This My People, Kashmiriyat and The Monograph, "The Oral and Intangible Heritage of South Asia" were freely distributed during the festival.