Hailing from Madhya Pradesh, Padma Shri awardee Kaluram Bamaniya specialises in propagating poet-saint Kabir’s sayings through ‘Kabir Gayan’. The bhajan singer, popularly known as ‘Kabir of Malwa’, talks to us about performing in Chennai, why he chose Saint Kabir and about keeping the generations-old style of singing alive.
Talking about the recognition folk music should be getting, he says, “Steps need to be taken so that this ancient art form and tradition are kept alive; the message should be spread and music conventions like this one (SPIC MACAY’s International Convention) take the message forward and introduce the new generation to differ ent traditional art forms.”
ON WHY HE CHOSE KABIR GAYANMy grandparents and parents have been singing the praises of the sanths for years; while they sang Meera and Gorakh, I mainly sing the sayings of Kabir. He was a saint who never discriminated on the basis of caste, race, tradition or status; his sayings were above all these things. He spoke of just connecting humans, of brotherhood, which is why I chose Kabir.
‘ONE SHOULD PERFORM MUSIC AS A MEANS OF SERVICE’You have to work a lot with full honesty, and perform music as a means of service. That’s how one gains the fruits of their hard work and efforts that go into their art. I see the Padma Shri as the fruit of my hard work.
MESSAGE TO THE NEXT GENERATION OF MUSICIANSI only want the upcoming musicians to keep this tradition of the saints (santho ki parampara) alive, take it forward their way, and spread their sayings, which have a lot of power and meaning. So, just sing it and sing it well.
‘FOLK MUSIC HAS THAT FREEING FEELING’As folk singers, we spread our wings and sing like a free bird. It is fun and we perform with a lot of love for the art. Folk music has that freeing feeling and it is high on inspiring and creating emotions. So, we perform so much that it becomes our practice; there are no separate practice sessions for me.
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