Gulzar has borrowed from him. So has the band, Indian Ocean. It might be 600 years since they were first sung, but the verses of Kabir, the 15th century poet and mystic, remain uniquely relevant today. “Especially in these fractured times,” says Falguni Desai, co-organiser of Kabir festival. This week, the festival is hosting a workshop in the city that will enlighten attendees about the essence of the philosophy that goes far beyond simple verse.

“Kabir is an idea — a philosophy and a way of looking at the world with ourselves in it,” Desai remarks. This is precisely why the festival has been holding these workshops every year, with traditional folk singers such as Parvathy Baul and Prahlad Singh Tipaniya.