'Ecstasy: A Nondual Tale of Love, Jazz and Dead Poets' by Swagath Sivakumar

Описание: 'I'm drunk on joy', sings Kabir, 'Now I can never be separated from the Beloved any more!' When mystics such as Kabir urge us to commune with the Oneness that is all-consuming love, we are inclined to think of it as a charming flight of medieval fantasy.

"All-consuming love, huh...is that tax-deductible?"
"Regular people don't really live like that. It's the Kali Yuga, baby!"

But...what if they do? And what if you could live like that too?

This is the story of a man and his daughter. He's got the blues, and she's got the jazz. Will he uncover Kabir's essence in time? Or will he succumb to his crushing loneliness?

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Swagath is a student and apprentice at the Kabir Project. He is drawn to the Indian mystics by the remarkable resonances between their poetry and the teachings of the Buddha.
As he grapples with his own difficulties, he enjoys sharing poetry and folk-philosophy which he has found personally insightful. You can reach him at [email protected].

This is the second of a series of audio works on Kabir that have emerged out of Swagath's student project at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.

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Browse other Ajab Stories at http://ajabshahar.com/stories/, a collection of works inspired by the mystics and created by artists, educators, writers and more.

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Credits

Written & performed by Swagath Sivakumar.

Art:
Digital painting by Vibhav Singh (@_vibhavsingh).
Earlier iteration by Mallika Joshi (https://www.mallikajoshi.com/).

Performances:
Opening Sequence/Ek-stasis
Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy (original tune)
Swagath Sivakumar (voice & tambura)

Jazz Powa
Rauf Abdul (piano)
Swagath Sivakumar (voice, organ)

Rooftop Strummings
Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy (original tune)
Swagath Sivakumar (voice & tambura)

Haman Hai Ishq
Bindhumalini Narayanaswamy (original tune)
Gautam David (saxophone)
Swagath Sivakumar (voice, guitars, percussion)
Sahir Hariharan (flute; not featured)

Featured music:
Haman Hain Ishq Mastaana
Shafi Mohammed Faqir (voice, harmonium)
Habibullah (banjo)
Roshan Ali (dholak)
Niyaz (tabla)
Recorded by the Kabir Project (March 2006)

Raag Yaman Kalyan
Pt. Kumar Gandharva (voice).
Used with permission from the NCPA.
© Sony Music Entertainment India Pvt. Ltd.
Accessible from the NCPA archives of Jan 1984.

Equipment:
Masoom Parmar
Miti Desi
Shabnam Virmani

Audio:
Rzhude David (@rzhude; recording)
Swagath Sivakumar (recording, editing, mixing, mastering)
Tushar Das (www.brownmonkeystudio.com; recording)

Video:
Anisha Baid (https://anishabaid.com/; cover design)
Sahir Virmani (editing)

Special thanks
Prashant Parvataneni

Ajab Shahar is a digital archive of mystic poetry and music drawing from the rich Bhakti and Sufi oral traditions in India and beyond... Explore a world of sung and spoken wisdom at https://ajabshahar.com