A Celebration of Kabir at the University of British Columbia

March 8-10, 2009

Institute of Asian Research,
The University of British Columbia
251-1855 West Mall, C.K. Choi Bldg.

Come together this March to celebrate the poet-saint Kabir, who sang of the ultimate and challenged the people of his time—and us today—to rethink the religious and other boundaries that bind us.

The celebration features a performance of Kabir singers, led by Dalit folk artist Prahlad Tipanya; a series of four documentary films entitled Journeys with Kabir directed by Shabnam Virmani, which move through contemporary spaces touched by the music/poetry of the 15th century mystic-weaver-poet of north India; and two scholarly lectures by leading figures in the study of South Asian devotional culture and literature.

Schedule of events:
Sponsored by the Centre for India and South Asia Research, The Departments of Asian Studies, Art History-Visual Art, and Theatre and Film.

Films Sunday March 8 in Lasserre Auditorium, Room 102
1-3 pm, Film 1: Hadh-Anhadh: Journeys with Ram and Kabir
3-4 pm, Tea and conversation with the filmmaker, Shabnam Virmani
4-6 pm, Film 2: Chalo Hamara Des: Journeys with Kabir and Friends

Monday March 9
4-5:30 pm, Lecture by Christian Novetzke, University of Washington, in Choi 120:
“The Flashpoint of Bhakti and the Genesis of 'Devotion'"
7:00-8:30 pm, Film 3: Koi Sunta Hai: Journeys with Kumar and Kabir, in the Asian Centre Auditorium

Tuesday, March 10
11 am -12:20 pm, Film 4: Kabira Khada Bazar Mein: Journeys with Sacred and Secular Kabir in the Asian Centre Auditorium
4-5:30 pm, Lecture by Valerie Ritter, University of Chicago
“Living Words: The Pleasure in Kabir's Proverb,”
7:00-9:00 pm, Performance of Kabir Singers from India, in the Asian Centre Auditorium