A quick glimpse into Neeraj Arya's Kabir Cafe, a project that recreates the verses of the 15th Century Mystic Kabir into pop, reggae, rock and fusion. The group performs at various venues across Mumbai.

1. “If a mirror ever makes you sad,
you should know, it does not know you”
- Kabir, 15th Century AD

2. Come, hangout with Kabir at
Live Music
Inspired by the verses of Kabir

3. The idea
Kabir insisted on living life to the fullest, and he defined life
as an eternal party. Sounds very much like the people here
in Mumbai, right? Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café aims to give
music lovers yet another reason to groove, this time to lyrics
that contain a meaning and a purpose.

4. The story…
In 2012, Neeraj Arya - a Delhi-based free-style,
folk musician came to Mumbai hoping to make
a career out of music. He got an opportunity to
perform at railway stations under the NSPA
(National Streets for Performing Arts)…

5. The STory
At the same time, Mukund Ramaswamy, a Mechanical
engineer by profession, and a serious violinist, who’s
been playing professionally on stage since 10 years, also
took stage for the NSPA…

6. The Story
And their meetings at NSPA led to an unlikely
collaboration of sorts.
Mukund, an accomplished Carnatic musician, with
years of training behind him…
And Neeraj, who till date hasn’t seen the façade of a
music school…

7. The Story
Only Kabir could have brought them together.
And indeed he did.
Together, they experimented with various artists, and
performed under different names (Makeshift,
Flameshot Fakirs, Tyag…)

8. The Story
Several months and several change-in-lineups later,
today Neeraj Arya’s Kabir Café is ready to serve:
Fresh renditions of Kabir Poetry in a
contemporary setting.

9. What we offer
• A range of performances – From full-power electric
sets to simple, acoustic gigs.
• We have a huge database of artists who guest perform
with us often. So your every requirement can be
handled by us.

10. What we offer
• We perform only Kabir Poetry, and we infuse it with a
touch of Rock, Pop, Reggae and fusion.
• And we don’t just perform for people, we make them a
part of us, and we each the crowd a Kabir song or two,
or three.

11. The team
NEERAJ ARYA – A self taught folk
musician from Delhi, he had decided
to pursue film making by taking up a
course in film and editing from
University of Madison, Wisconsin
USA. But the lure of music brought
him back to where he belonged.
Before leaving for the US, Neeraj
spent a lot of time in Malwa and
Rajasthan with folk singers, and
picked up the verses of Kabir. Since
the last 8 years, he has been
performing Kabir Rock at the Malwa
Kabir Yatra, The Kalaghoda festival
Mumbai & The Himalayan Village
Music festival to name a few.

12. The team
MUKUND RAMASWAMY
A Carnatic violinist by training, he has
been playing alongside some of the
biggest stalwarts in the Carnatic circuit
since he was 13 years old. Having
performed Carnatic concerts across
the country, Mukund now explores
other genres, and experiments
different styles, and at times, brings in
a refreshing Carnatic flavour to Kabir’s
soulful verses.

13. The Team
RAMAN IYER – A largely self
taught Mandolin player, he heads
content at a Digital Media Agency
for a day job. He rediscovered
music after he met Neeraj and
Mukund at the Mumbai Kabir
festival, and that’s when he picked
up the mandolin again after 7
years. Not being from a particular
school of music gives him and the
team an advantage to experiment,
break rules and challenge
convention.

14. Making news…
DNA, 17 may 2013

15. Making news

16. THIS IS HOW OUR MUSIC
SOUNDS LIKE…
Halke Gaadi Hako
https://soundcloud.com/neeraj-aryas-kabircafe/halke-gaadi

17. And this is how we rock
the show
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qlh0mhd
OCk&feature=youtu.be
Live Performance at Bombay Exhibition Centre,
Goregaon East

18. More links…
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=playe
r_embedded&v=x5UmgPOYPWk
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aJvZ9mGjE

19. Get in Touch
Email: livekabirmusic@gmail.com
Call:
• Neeraj Arya – 98192 23837
• Mukund Ramaswamy – 98339 82798
• Raman Iyer– 99304 17769