If there is one event in the Literature and Writing programme that piqued everyone’s curiousity when I told them about it, it was Rocking ‘N’ Rolling With Kabir. With a name like that, it isn’t hard to imagine why.
Based on Chennai-based Jaya Madhavan’s book for young adults, Kabir The Weaver-Poet, this very unusual performance was co-ordinated by Ramu Ramanathan, award-winning playwright, director, and for those of us lucky enough to have had the chance, a terrific albeit unconventional teacher and encourager of creative young minds.
True to its name, Rocking ‘N’ Rolling with Kabir treated us among other ‘remixes’ to Dheere Dheere Re Mana set to We Will Rock You.
Yes.
And how it worked!



After the Akhtar-Azmi poetry reading, this too dealt with poetry, but it was the complete opposite of the earlier event in style, treatment and even the number of people on stage. Designed and enacted by Out of Context, a group of students from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi College of Architecture, the performance was a topical, allusive and tongue-in-cheek take on Kabir.
So irreverent in fact that Jaya, who had seen this adaptation for the first time, confessed as much when we invited her onstage with Ramu and Radhika Menon of Tulika, the publisher. She sat suitably dazed while Ramu explained the rock and roll connection, and how not to underestimate its power to change people.

A question about whether the play then intended to lead us all into Kabirgiri left the speakers speechless :)
One of the questions was addressed to the performers, and I think it was just very brave of our young Kabir to simply come on stage and engage so well with the same audience who till then had been mesmerised by veterans…so clap clap clap, Tapan.
And then came the second surprise of the evening. Jaya talked about the book and about Kabir quite animatedly, and then broke into the most wonderrrrrful rendition of a doha, almost impromptu. (I can still hear it.) There was nothing left to do after that but applaud and shake our heads, too dazed ourselves to even say wah-wah!
Ah, yes. We love Dhaga.
Dhaga bhaga bhaga dhaga!