(Click on CC for subtitles in Hindi)
(भजन के बोल देखने के लिए CC पर क्लिक करें)

Dapu Khan was the voice of the majestic Jaisalmer Fort. He was the only singer who sang from within the bustling fort premises for the last 25 years and yet, he remains as enigmatic as the desert myths and tales. He was one of the very few exponents of the Kamaicha, which is often termed as one of the oldest bowed instruments in the world.

This beautiful Meera Bhajan points to the devotion of Saint Meera, a Hindu mystic poet a devotee of Krishna, and one of the most significant saints of the Vaishnava bhakti movement. She sang of her love for Krishna with such simplicity and directness that in her songs millions have found a voice and echo of their own God-yearning.

'Bhakti' of the style of Meera is not just worship but involves a deeper madness altogether. A readiness to abandon everything including oneself.

In this composition, Meera Bai lovingly prepares for the arrival of Girdhari, she sweeps the path spotless clear and decorates it with scented flowers. She is eager to get even a little glimpse of Hari!

She is so exhilarated that she feels herself turning into a cuckoo and soaring high in the clouds and can even find comfort in thunder as her Hari is going to adorn her with his presence. She is so happy that she imagines herself to be a koel, flying joyfully in the garden, taking the delight in all sorts of scents and flowers. She is even ready to call herself a bee and settle on the finest flowers to take their fragrance and make the best nectar possible.

Meera Bai expresses her pious love by singing praises of Girdhari and in this, she submits to her Lord's presence. Listen to this beautiful Bhajan in the soul-stirring voice of Dapu Khan.

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Translation:

Kabir, from the ambiance of a saint
Rises the fragrances of his wisdom
Even when the saint departs
The fragrances subsist

O Kabir, this kaliyug is like a blind cow
Whose calf is dead
But still unknowingly licks the skin of her dead child

I turned into a nightingale
And sat in the lawns
The flowered fragrance delighted me, O ram
I scour the path clear
And adorn the path with flowers
I got the glance of my lord, O ram

I turned into a heron
And sat in the ocean
The rivulets rising in the ocean
Overjoyed me, my ram!
I flounce the path clear
And adorn the path with flowers
I got the glance of Ganges, my ram

I turned into a flittering bee
And sat on the flowers
The fragrances of the flowers
Enchanted me, O ram
I flounce the path clear
And adorn the path with flowers
I got the glance of Ganges, my ram

Says Mira Bai,
By singing my girdhar
I got the glance of Ganges, my ram
I got the glance of Krishna, my lord
O ram!

Translated by Shreyans Dugar

Vocal & Khamaicha: Dapu Khan
Khartal : Kasam Khan
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Rajasthan Kabir Yatra is a 7 days-long annual traveling folk music festival spread across six rural and urban locations in and around Rajasthan. Organised by Lokayan, Bikaner and partnered with Rajasthan Police, this is a folk festival providing a space where folk musicians, artists, scholars, students, and seekers can immerse themselves in the voices of Bhakti and Sufi saint-poets such as Kabir, Mira, Bulleh Shah, and many more, questioning and dissolving boundaries of caste, class, religion, and identity.

The five editions, in 2012, 2016, 2017, 2018 & 2019 were widely chronicled and appreciated. It brought together 50 artists, over 400 Yatris every year from other parts of India, and thousands of local audiences.
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Video Credits:
Camera: Madhur Vyas, Sharad Bissa, Ravi Maru, Neeraj Khatri, Himanshu Gehlot
Editing: Deepanshu Tiwari & Gopal Singh Chouhan
Subtitling: Nikita Tiwari
Collection: The Lokayan, Bikaner

Place: Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Date: 02 October 2019