Edited & Directed by Dani Karmakar
Synopsis
Kabir is based on the famous play ‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein’ which was written by Hindi writer Bhishma Sahni in the 1980’s. In the 1980s, the politics of communal movement had become dangerous. The play describes the outstanding Indian saint poet Kabir’s life and his thoughts that express revulsion against untouchability and religious exclusivism. Kabir’s verses are still relevant which reject autocracy of fundamentalism. The play traces some events in his life and restrictive social conditions in the meantime. This drama is about an era when religious organizations divided society into the interests of their own and the basis of religion. We can see today’s time to talk about Kabir’s era. It highlights the issue of increasing racism, corruption, discrimination, untouchability and communalism. Kabir was repeatedly beaten by religious groups in his life. They tried to kill him. They were put him in front of a mad elephant. They tried to drown him in the Ganges. But he did not move away from his thoughts. He stayed in his opinion. He said of the humanity that God is the one, God lives in all, who has motivated us even today. We are trying to highlight the life of Kabir on the basis of today’s time. We trying to highlight today’s situation of Dalits, the horrific image of religious unrest, the ferocity of fundamentalism through this play. Kabir has been struggling against religious fanaticism throughout his life, against ruthlessness of racism, against fundamentalism. The play connects the struggle of Kabir in a medieval environment with all distortions in the contemporary society.
