Mooralala Marwada & Shruthi Vishwanath at Kabir Festival Mumbai- celebrating Bhitai & Tuka

Musicians (L-R):
Ghada Ghamela: Mohan bhai
Tabla: Shruteendra Katagade
Vocals: Shruthi Vishwanath
Vocals: Mooralala Marwada
Manjira/Vocals: Bhikha bhai
Janjh: Sukhdev bhai
Sarangi: Yuji Nakagawa

This collaboration was a brainchild of Kabir Festival Mumbai and Falguni Desai. In our celebration of artists and poets, it often becomes a celebration in silos. We celebrate Sindh or Maharashtra or Malwa. But to take two artists- one rural and one urban, from two different parts of the country, and get them to sing together is an important step towards making us shed our differences.

I have always wanted to sing with Moorabhai. Once at the Malwa Kabir Yatra, I played manjira for his troupe and was amazed at the incredible energy he generates and the range of his voice, both much more evident from the stage. He is a rockstar of Kutch, a musician with an astounding repertoire of songs from across Kutch, Sindh, Gujarat, Rajasthan.

This combination of Jogi Jogyan by Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai and Jag Jogi by Tukaram Maharaj is something I have been dreaming of for a while.
In the voice of the young princess Ramkali, Bhitai says:
"O mother, I long to be with the jogis.."
Tuka says "wake up o jogi! You have been wandering here for ever.."

In this juxtaposition of 17th century Maharashtra and 18th century Sindh, in the sarangi played by a Japanese musician meeting the ghada ghamela of a Kutchi musician, the tambura meeting the ektara, I feel boundaries slowly erasing.

Location Courtesy: Kabir Festival Mumbai and Pond Room, Great Eastern Home

kabir,kabir festival mumbai,mooralala,mooralala marwada,shruthi vishwanath,shruti vishwanath,shruthi viswanath,shruthi kabir,abhang,tukaram,bhitai,sindh,maharashtra,japan,collaboration,japanese musician,tabla,sarangi,ghada ghamela,yuji nakagawa,shruteendra katagade,fusion,incredible india,indian music,folk music,indian folk,music beyond borders,pune,mumbai,pune music,classical music,abhangs,shah abdul latif bhitai,ramkali,kabir project,sufi,sufi music,song,