Devotional Music of India: Songs of the Saint-Poets
sung by
Dr. Krishnakant Shukla
on tour from Varanasi, India
Friday, December 03, 07:30 p.m.
Venue: The Center, 6923 Stockton Ave El Cerrito 94530
For further info & Directions: Ann Speirs (510 860 6450)
(Free & Open to the Public, donations would be appreciated)
The Northern California Baba Group is extremely fortunate to engage Dr. Krishna Shukla in a concert as part of his US tour in 2010. Dr. Shukla, a Baba Lover who has spent much time at Meherabad, sings bhajans that will melt your heart. He especially loves the songs of Kabir, one of Baba’s favorites
Krishna Kant Shukla gave up his job as assistant professor of astronomy at an American college and returned to his native India to live his dream of singing bhajans (Indian devotional songs expressing love for the Divine). A distinguished lecturer with a Ph.D. in solid state physics now turned musician, his love for Varanasi, oldest living city in the world and holy city of India, and his passion for music “combine to serve as his breath for survival”. “Time stands still in Varanasi” Dr. Kant Shukla has said
and “music is in my blood,… singing makes me come alive”. His bhajan performances at various cities in India have won him accolades. He has performed at the London Mela as a distinguished guest of the Mayor of London, but of more particular interest to Baba lovers is that Krishna has sung for Meher Baba’s old disciples at Meherazad, where, according to Meherabad resident Peter Booth, his “performance was one of the most moving and powerful I have experienced in thirty years.”
More About KRISHNAKANT SHUKLA: While teaching Physics and Astronomy as an assistant professor in upstate New York, Dr. Shukla decided to quit academics and follow his heart and soul deep into the fathomless waters of Indian Classical Music. Having studied with great maestros like Srimati Laxmi Shankar, Ustaad Ali Akbar Khan, and Dr. Tapan Bhattacharya, he returned to India in 1994 to explore the roots of Indian Classical Music in the great living oral folk traditions. His musical search led him into remote villages in the Himalayan foothills, as well as far flung and difficult to reach dwellings in the central plains. He has been particularly influenced by the songs of Kabir, Gorakhnath, and other nirguna bhakti poet-saints—songs that have been sung as part of a living oral tradition that is over six hundred years old.
Dr. Shukla’s repertoire includes compositions of Tyagaraja, Tulsidas, Surdas, Meera, Tukaram, Purandardas and other poet-saints of India, as well as the musical compositions of Sufi saints. He has also been researching, recording and performing the folk songs of rural northern India, which, according to him, is an art form of unparalleled beauty which is fast becoming extinct.
Dr. Shukla has performed widely in India and is currently touring the U.S. He has been recognized as a singer of devotional music by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, an agency of the central government that supports artists to represent India culture abroad. More details are there on the website www.krishnakantshukla.org
From: Karen Talbot
Date: December 10, 2010 5:46:33 AM PST
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject:Review of Krishna Shukla
The Krishna Shukla Concert played to a packed crowd – some people turned away and could not get in – many sat on the floor and stairs. All seemed deeply moved and glad they came. The Center was host to an eclectic mix of Baba Lovers and community members who heard the rumour that Krishna was playing or heard the radio interview he gave a few days prior to the concert.
Krishna’s ensemble included Barjinder Singh on tabla and our own beloved Raine on tanbora for the first time. Claude added his oud interpretation on the final number. Dr. Linda Hess (Professor of Religious Studies @ Stanford) provided moving translations of the Kabir poetry.
The Kabir poetry was lyrical, haunting, visceral. The evening ended all too fast, with a few rousing songs in English that Krishna has put to popular western tunes.
We look forward to Krishna’s next concert tour in Summer 2012.