Sanjukta Wagh and Vedanth Bharadwaj

Now in its seventh edition, The Kabir Festival Mumbai began in 2011 as a journey of a few hopeful seekers who wanted to share soulful music and the message of mystic poets. “The thoughts that these poets shared, continue to remain relevant today. When there are people from a variety of backgrounds and communities living together, it is recipe for trouble. The words of saints like Kabir help us recognise our common humanity. It is important to keep reminding people of this, especially in today’s turbulent times,” says Falguni Desai, trustee of Sahej Foundation, a registered charitable trust that organises the fest. “We have tried to weave the message of the poet-saints into the spirit of the festival by making decisions to make the festival inclusive, free for all, community-funded (versus corporate-funded), volunteer-run. It will span across the city,” she shares. The events will be held at venues in Fort, Babulnath, Bhendi Bazaar, Byculla, Bandra, Ghatkopar, Juhu, Borivali, Kandivali and Thane.