Kishan Kumar

Kishan Kumar is a 50-year-old folk musician who belongs to a remote village called ‘Matte Ka Tala’ adjacent to the Pakistan border region. The village has 500 to 700 inhabitants. Kishanji has three sons and four daughters. His children are involved in farming but he finds himself fully devoted to music. He plays tandoora (veena) with his group. His family and group members belong to the Meghwal tribe. Their ancestors came from Pakistan after partition and settled in that village. His father and grandfather inspired him to perform ‘bhajans’ in ‘Satsanga’ and ‘Jaagrans’. He was as young as 12 years when he started performing with his father’s group. He used to memorize songs by writing them down in a notebook. He realized the importance of proper guidance and learned more about this genre of music from his Guru Dhorimna. His hymns comprise of tales of Raadha-Krishna, Meerabai, those inspired from Saint Kabir’s couplets and poems, and bhajans about Guru Mahima and Guru Ravidas. Kishan Kumar also writes his own bhajans, mostly about Ram Devji, and has performed his original creations in many shows. He finds himself immersed in ‘Bhakti Bhaav’ and enjoys performing at ‘Satsanga’ even when the whole show goes on for the entire night, till the next morning. He feels that it is his duty to make people aware of their sins, to steer clear of addiction, and focus on good deeds.

• Barmer
• Rajasthan