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Sanjoy Roy, MD, Teamwork Arts Talks About Mahindra Kabira Festival, Future Initiatives & More!
by EVENTFAQS Bureau Entertainment | October 22, 2019 | Interview
Mahindra Kabira Festival Teamwork Arts EEMA Sanjoy Roy
A brainchild of the Mahindra Group and pioneering performing arts and Entertainment Company, Teamwork Arts, the Mahindra Kabira Festival is back with its fourth edition. The Festival promises an experience that truly is ‘Kabir in every sense’ and, apart from the music. A two-day programme of music, literature, discourse, curated walks, boat rides on the Ganga, and an array of local cuisine, the Mahindra Kabira Festival will run from November 22nd to 24th, 2019, offering an immersive experience inspired by Kabir’s teachings.
In an exclusive conversation with EVENTFAQS, Sanjoy Roy, MD, Teamwork Arts and President, EEMA gives an insight on the 4th Edition of Mahindra Kabira Festival, exciting line up, future plans and more!
With Mahindra Kabira Festival having announced its 4th edition, tell us how the property has grown year on year since its inception.
The Mahindra Kabira Festival set up to explore the syncretic traditions and the common sense that Kabir represented has come a long way in creating platform for the simplicity of Kabir’s philosophy. The festival attracts thousands of people from the city and equally importantly welcomes guests from across the world. In its fourth year we look forward to showcasing the essence of the oldest inhabited city in the world and receiving our guests form UK, USA, Hong Kong, UAE and across India. With its rich music tradition, literature, curated walks, boat rides on the Ganga, and an array of local cuisine. The festival is a 360 degree immersion in to a rich heritage.

In your opinion, where does a regional music festival like MKF stand in the overall LIVE entertainment market in India as the audience have a wide range of options to choose from?
Mahindra Kabira Festival is not just a music festival, but a celebration of what the mysticism of Kabir left for us. Every year, we create an evocative experience, which salutes Kabir’s universality, and his relevance in today's chaotic world, with a promise of simplicity and peace.
This is not just a music festival, but an immersive experience of the heritage, culture and tradition of this age old city. The idea behind the Mahindra Kabira Festival is to immerse one’s senses and spirit and focus on the inner calm of our very being and explores the essence of “oneness amidst diversity” as propagated by Kabir, through the unrivalled power of music, literature, food, built heritage and the arts.
What is the artist line-up fans can expect from the festival this year?
The 2019 line-up includes young and passionate performers like Neeraj Arya’s, Kabir Café, Neeraj Mishra and Ujwal Nagar, along with veterans like Om Prakash Nayak, Mooralala Marwada, Shabnam Virmani and noted sarangi player Ustad Kamal Sabri, among others, at the famous Shivala and Guleria Ghats.

Three-time Grammy nominee Pt. Ajay Shankar Prasanna will present a collaborative ‘Flute Symphony’ with eminent artists experimenting with the sounds of the wind. The Festival will platform Unity Earth, an international organisation on a mission to accelerate the realisation of unity and peace on earth.

What other future initiatives are planned through Teamwork Arts?
This season we look forward to hosting the 13th edition of Jaipur Literature Festival in January 2020. We will also be hosting a brand-new festival, InHerit, a craft and design festival in a carnival setting in Delhi. The list is never ending with Imagine, Jazz India Circuit, Mahindra Kabira Festiaval in Varanasi and the 15th edition of The Mahindra Excellence in Theatre Awards (META) and JLF Adelaide.
I am also very happy to announce that after successfully launching two new international editions of our literature segment, JLF Belfast and JLF Toronto we will be venturing into the Middle Eastern market with JLF Doha.
Read More - Fourth Edition of Mahindra Kabira Festival Brings Together Rare Collaborations in Varanasi
In an exclusive conversation with EVENTFAQS, Sanjoy Roy, MD, Teamwork Arts and President, EEMA gives an insight on the 4th Edition of Mahindra Kabira Festival, exciting line up, future plans and more!