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M.K Raina's 'Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein' : A Rock Opera Presented by Dastaan LIVE

‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein’ 

Directed by M.K Raina, Produced by Anirban Ghosh (Baan G) and Performed by Dastaan LIVE (and friends).

‘Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein’ is an iconic play written by the renowned author Bhishen Sahni. It is a fictionalised account of the life of Kabir and explores his philosophy while critiquing societal issues like communalism and the caste system. The play is as relevant today as it was when it was written and performed. The play was brought to life by noted theatre director, actor and cultural activist M.K. Raina and his group Prayog in 1982. The performance was so successful that it ran for over a decade. One of the most striking things about this performance was how the poetry of Kabir was brought to life by the brilliant music composed by the Late Panchanan Pathak. 

Kabir’s message of love and unity is vitally important in the current discordant times and we feel it important to revive the music of this important play, not just as an archive but in a new vibrant format that can reach out to new audiences. This project aims to re-interpret the music of the play, retaining its core aesthetics and updating the arrangement and instrumentation for modern sensibilities (in a rock-opera format). 

The group will perform this new version of the music at the Mahindra Kabira Festival 2021, with performances of the pieces around the stage and projecting visuals on the structures (behind the audience) and behind the musicians  & performers. The singers /spoken word poets will be moving around the space to give this entire performance an immersive effect.
 

About Dastaan LIVE

Dastaan LIVE is an art-rock project that brings together the world of the aural and the visual to deliver a one-of-a-kind experience for audiences. With music composed by Anirban Ghosh (Baan G) and Sumant Balakrishnan (Bala), it constantly strives to discover new ways to make this project increasingly immersive for audiences, creating spaces for dialogue and interpretations and compelling people, above all, to think.

M.K. Raina is a well-known theatre personality, actor and cultural activist. A graduate of the National School of Drama, he has directed over a 100 plays across India and the world, fiction and non-fiction films for television, and conducted numerous workshops across the country. He has also been a part of both alternative and mainstream cinema, having acted in films like Taare Zameen Par, Forgotten Army (web series), to name a few. He has held many notable positions such as a member of the National Jury for the National Film Awards, 1978, Trustee Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust, and Trustee South Asia Foundation, among others. He has been a Fellow at the University of Hawaii, Stanford University, and Scholar-in-Residence at Jamia Millia Islamia. He has been awarded the Sanskriti Award for Theatre (1980), Best Director (Sahitya Kala Parishad, 1982) for Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein, Sahitya Kala Parishad Samman (1986-1987), Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1995), B.V. Karanth Memorial Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatre (National School of Drama, 2008), and many others. His writings on theatre and culture have been published in notable publications. Raina is currently working on his first book, a memoir titled ‘Before I Forget’.