Hindi cinema, Bhakti poetry, and Constitutional values
What do Kabir and Majrooh Sultanpuri have in common? Medieval Bhakti poets and 1950’s Hindi film lyricists espoused the very values of liberty, equality, and fraternity enshrined in our Constitution
What do the songs of 1950’s Hindi cinema have in common with the poems of Bhakti saint-poets?
Over the centuries, poets have reminded us of the values we are in danger of forgetting as a society. The ideas of liberty, equality, fraternity, and justice — the very values enshrined in the Constitution of India — have endured over centuries in the Bhakti tradition. The Bhakti poets always challenged the ideologies of their times that attempted to force the belief that people were not equal.
Radio Azim Premji University presents Bhakti Republic hosted by Amit Basole, faculty at Azim Premji University with a keen interest in poetry and co-author of a book on Mirza Ghalib.
We begin our journey in the film studios of 1950’s Bombay (then not yet known as Bollywood) where lyricists like Sahir Ludhianvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Shailendra, and others are using the power of their poetry to awaken people to the spirit of Constitutional Values. We journey down the Ganga to Varanasi, where Kabir challenged bigotry with uncommon wisdom and insight, while Ravidas dreamed of a utopian world bereft of pain and societal divisions. Thereon, we travel to medieval northern Karnataka, where the Kannada vachanakaras infused their simple, candid, and powerful poetry with the language of their trade.
Listen to Bhakti Republic on Radio Azim Premji University.
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