Meera, Thaare Kain Laage Gopal? | Meera, Who Is Krishna To You After All?

A film by Shabnam Virmani & Prashant Parvataneni (40:45 min)
(Click on Settings for Hindi Subtitles)
Saint. Lover. Devotee. Rebel. Who was Meera after all? We sense her through her songs. We taste her rage, her love. We feel the power of her radical surrender. And yet Meera, one of the most well-loved saint-poets of India, remains an enigma.
This film is part of a Lockdown Film Series called Ajab Mulakaatein, an attempt by the Kabir Project and our friends to travel and meet in wondrous ways despite the odds of the pandemic and its many lockdowns. We made online and some offline excursions into the villages of Rajasthan, Kutch, and Malwa to connect with singers and seekers who have kept the legacy of Meera alive in their singing.
Babu Khan and Nathu Khan Bagarwa, singers of the Mir community from Jamsar, Rajasthan spoke to us about how intimately Meera speaks to them and the transformative power of singing her words.
In stunningly rendered melodies, Bikaneri singer Omprakash Nayak brought us closer to Meera’s ‘nishchay’, her utter determination in the face of all odds.
Folk singers Kaluram Bamaniya from Malwa, and Mooralala Marwada from Kutch
got us grooving to the dance of Meera and singers Mahesha Ram and Bhalu Ram from Rajasthan put us in a hush.
Over Zoom, we conversed with Chandra Prakash Deval, a deeply invested scholar of folk traditions from Rajasthan itself, the land of Meera. Being himself an eminent and awarded poet and translator in Rajasthani language, Deval sahab took us deep into the metaphors of Meera's poetry, underlining the local flavours of her songs, so intimately connected to the everyday lives of people and their cultures.
Neelima Shukla-Bhatt, Professor of Religion at Wellesley College, Massachusetts, spoke from her childhood memory about the power of a Meera song and the spirit of freedom it inspires for her.
Nancy Martin, Professor and Chair of Religious Studies at Chapman University, California, shared moving moments and reflections from her research on Meera, including how people from various social backgrounds have embraced Meera as their own.
As we offer you this film, in these times of the pandemic, we urge you to support the folk artists. Funds raised will be equally shared with artists we recorded with during lockdown. Contribute here: pages.razorpay.com/AjabMulaka...
Film Credits:
Direction: Shabnam Virmani, Prashant Parvataneni
Editing: Yashwanth S
Field Recording Teams
Rajasthan - Gopal Singh Chauhan, Punit Jarja, Deepanshu Tiwari, Prakash
Malwa - Tapas Upadhyay, Sachin Kumavat, Deepanshu Tiwari
Additional Camera: Shabnam Virmani, Avanti Sadhu, Rebana John
Additional Editing: Radha Mahendru
Sound Mixing: Yashwanth S, Fireflys Post Sound
Songs: Sohana Devi, Mooralala Marwada, Omprakash Nayak, Kaluram Bamaniya, Bhalu Ram, Mahesha Ram & troupes
Song & Interview Translations: Shabnam Virmani
Poem Translations: Rahul Soni, Robert Bly, Ruth Vanita, Madhu Kishwar, Prashant Parvataneni, Andrew Schelling, Nancy Martin, Vipul Rikhi
Hindi Subtitles: Prashant Parvataneni, Shabnam Virmani
Miniature Paintings Courtesy: The Cleveland Museum of Art, The MET Museum, The British Museum, The Victoria And Albert Museum, Wikimedia Commons
Palace Animation: Rajeshwari Rathi
Logo Animation: Yashraj Surana
Animation Support: Ashwita Poojari, Sruti Ganesh, Radhika Agarwal, Shivam Kumar
Motion Graphics: Yashwanth S
Devanagari Font: Swathi Ramaswamy (source: MET Museum painting)
Social Media & Publicity: Masoom Parmar
Poster Design: Neha Kulkarni
Design & Ideation Support: Smriti Chanchani
Production Support: Psalm Paul
Acknowledgements: Swagath Sivakumar, Sultana Zana
A Kabir Project production
@ Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology
Bangalore, 2022

[@Sumitkumar-fl3yx]

I just want to hide this masterpiece from this world.

[@amanakeet]

हट्ट मंगता

[@pradeepsughra152]

We should spread 💐

[@musicangels]

share you will find real happiness.

[@bnee4313]

better not comment then, algorithm will not suggest it to others.

[@azzzmal]

The Most Underrated Channel of the music enthusiasts.

[@abhinav5534]

I absolutely agree! 💯

[@goswamivishal]

Yes

[@atulprakash422]

An antidote for every existential crisis.

[@atulprakash422]

@@bnee4313 thanks

[@aditithakur2208]

No words can express the joy i felt after watching this. I'm in love with Meera and her courage to break free and just be herself. Tears rolled down my cheeks when he quotes "pag ghungroo bandh meera nachi re". Thankyou for this beautiful masterpiece.🍀

[@geethulekshmi6340]

Crying of happiness

[@azzzmal]

This is something not from the world which we are living in🤯

[@violetpurple2291]

This is.. u hv to search

[@shubhmishra66]

Yes, and not read the Aasmani Kitaav

[@kunalkhade5793]

Shabnam mam.. I feel really lucky to be born in this age to see your work.. May God bless you with the complete moksha .. Love you ❤✨

[@abhinavtiwari4437]

Disclaimer: Watch this film at your own risk, you'll fall in love with Meera Bai. 💙

[@dhruvbhatt6972]

great... the singer of lead song is singing from deep inside. unko milne aur samne baith kar sunane ko man hota hai

[@musicangels]

i've never written this before, but this production deserve views in millions.

[@Purnama1008]

Touches Meera in everyone. 🌷🙏🏼🌷

[@user-bd6qj4zj6n]

i pray this remains alive forever this tradition

[@real7917]

Beautiful,, this gave me strength to continuously moving on path on self realisation❤❤

[@kaushalkishore6938]

It is a heartwarming experience to see this beautiful documentary

[@rohanyadav2502]

Most underrated channel What a channel!!!🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🎉🎉🎉

[@PawanKumar-eq8yi]

Not sure how to thank you guys for making this

[@kajusatani5204]

I love meera and krishna...thank you for it.👌👌👌👌💐

[@shaamv7538]

Wao!! It's really an amazing story of Meera Bai 😍😍, As I was listening to it , was feeling to fall in love with Krishna ❤️.

[@GoyankaParth]

Thank you shabnam and Prashant for this beautiful insight into that which we refer to as" Meera". Grateful 🙏🙏

[@truekeshav]

Heart Touching Meera & Krishna Love 😊🌸🙏🌸

[@valakuldeep6519]

Thank you so much for making such masterpieces 💙💙💙

[@jitendrarajoriya8586]

Ram Ram 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 jai gurudev ji 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 jai shree krishna 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@naazfatima7158]

If comprehended, her words can draw you into a state of absolute bliss. Somehow it speaks straight to the lover self in one's soul. Truly ecstatic! ❤✨

[@Mohitkumar-ev7he]

Just mesmerizing ...brings tears in the eyes all along😍😍😍

[@piyushchavan3608]

The illustrations, The composition, The rawness!

[@carolineaustin4138]

Thank you. This was beautiful.

[@uzmapreetu]

Thanks to all the people who participated in bringing this jewel to us. Thanks 🙏🏻

[@pratham907]

This is just beautiful. In tears. Thank you for such art and joy.

[@bairagkabirchannel774]

बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद साधुवाद शबनम दी दी

[@sanjaypanchal5268]

It is incredible.....years , love,krushna and MEERA ,....love it .... thankyou so much @ajabshahar 🙏💕💕💕💕

[@nilayjoshi4056]

Mirabai may not be deliberate but she taught us a simple but significant lesson of life "You need to have obsession (it is a greater form of dedication) over goal and you will reach far and beyond". What Mirabai did is worshipping a god which she believed is her husband, and for praising her Lord Krishna she made many Dohe & PAD and in that she dedicated her whole life (though she dealt with some hardship but she still continued).She just did those simple things but because of her dedication she is still remembered after 500 years, her dohe and PAD are made into hyms, bhajans, may be somewhere songs. If we could be as dedicated or obsessed for our goal we could be something more than what we are right now. P.S.: I also wanted to add one more thin, Mirabai must have died happily (cause in swarg she must have met her beloved gopal)

[@goswamivishal]

Can’t thank you enough for this. 🙏❤️

[@gautamdange8668]

Absolutely amazing and mesmerizing. Thank you very much for this masterpiece 🙏

[@prabhatrajput9088]

Exceptional compilation, out of this world !!

[@anuragnamdev8780]

❤️ Thankyou for this!

[@malikfahdaliawan178]

Desperately waiting

[@priyanshishekhawat8836]

My heart just melted 💓

[@arshitatiwari4234]

Wow! What a creation and research done. Please keep the good work going🙏🏽🙌🏼

[@manasvidesai286]

This video has given peace in my mind ✨🕊️ masterpiece🌟

[@AmardeepSinghSingapore]

As always - heart touching presentations. Thanks.

[@manuvashist1744]

Feed for the soul..amazing.

[@alysaa5228]

Beautiful, no words to describe its beauty 💐🙏🏻shukriya team to upload this

[@shubhmishra66]

Really underrated and such beautiful content!!!

[@Annie_sv]

How to express... words and emotions to this masterpiece...I would just like to say thank you very much to all of you 🙏🏻🌸

[@YuvrajHanspal]

Beautiful 😍❤️ Absolutely beautiful ❤️❤️❤️

[@swapnilgupta5399]

I love this masterpiece. Had a hard day, but this cheers my mood up. Its 12:30 midnight, and I am having tears when the line came " let's meet in the immortal realm". Thankyou for introducing to great saint Mirabai ❤

[@maheshtriwedi7760]

WHAT A REAL CONTENT🙏NO WORDS TO EXPRESS

[@rajeshswarnkar1843]

Oh my krishna.. Whrere i was.. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@farmerboy4659]

जी भर के रो लिया 💌🌸

[@goswamivishal]

Love it. I was waiting from last week.

[@bringrevolutiongirls.9252]

काश यें कभी खत्म ही ना होती 😓😓😓😍

[@drushali14]

I keep rewatching this! Can’t get enough of Meera bai! Rarest of the rare soul. She wasn’t just in love, she was love. 🙏 Thank you for this beautiful effort. ❤

[@bnee4313]

liked for rewatch

[@sheharyarmalik3554]

Beautiful ❤️❤️ Much love from Lahore

[@radhahirani6622]

So sweet masterpiece 😭❤️✨️

[@adityaaprakashumath]

This is one of the most profound and loving documents of the spirit of the Indian subcontinent. Thank you, Shabnam Virmani and team for making this beautiful film My tears won't stop each time the singers started to sing. Such profound and well edited piece or art. Cheers. 🦚🦚

[@swapnilgupta5399]

Totally man. I am having tears too, it's 12:30 midnight 😂

[@adityaaprakashumath]

@@swapnilgupta5399 bhai I am studying for my morning exam to aapke reply se fir idhar aa gya hu ab dobaara dekhunga...shayad fir kl exam or accha jaye🌙

[@naransiju65]

Thanks for information...

[@dipdastoko7426]

This is truly beautiful

[@adityarajsen]

Incredible rajasthan ❤❤

[@ishumarwaha1437]

Wow❤️ no words 👍🏻

[@ravinagarwal1584]

great masterpiece waah!!!

[@anjalijadon9067]

Utterly Divine 🙏

[@riteshpoptani4256]

What a lovely production

[@spiritualeducation5559]

Masterpiece!

[@omjoshibarmer5511]

अदभुत डॉक्यूमेंट्री

[@kunalajmera332]

बहुत खूबसूरत!❤️

[@ranjanishankar1930]

Really fell in love with the artwork.

[@shantanusharma392]

Superb selection of artists, bhajans and captivating story telling. Rustic and rooted, great work 👏

[@siddharthbhavsar6936]

Mesmerizing!

[@delhise81]

Masterpiece

[@betty7283]

thank you

[@mitulnaudiyal5297]

Simply beautiful💮

[@CH-ng8ei]

Most heart touching folklore in the world ❤️

[@Venu19]

Elixir of ❤️

[@kuntalbanerjee9640]

This is just ❤🔥❤🔥❤

[@musicangels]

yashwanth bhayiya immortal editing

[@user-wc2dv7nm2k]

Damn! WOW!❤

[@punitgarg3595]

Keep the work on... We will be there in need of any kind of support... Love from lovers

[@Jim_96504]

Thank you.

[@Aanchal.]

Ah! Meera thare kain lage gopal? What a soulful rendition of this bhakti poetry… Thanks for this heart out piece🌸💜

[@bnee4313]

which movie poster is your profile pic?

[@Aanchal.]

The Lunchbox

[@raghav2402]

Great work team!! Please provide the full version of songs sung by traditional singers in this video, it will make the experience complete.

[@mrbeast1997]

just feel IT❣️❣️❣️❣️❣️🤗🤗

[@tanushkadubeyy]

This is such a masterpiece ❤️ Could we get the full version ,if available, of Meera thare kain laage gopal by Sohana devi? Please do reply🙏

[@brajkishorjha2729]

That is already available in a jukebox uploaded by rajasthan kabir yatra chaneel on KZbin itself . You can easily get that

[@learninglearning4509]

here.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqTTc6Jto9R5ipI

[@dilipsinghrathore5904]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqTTc6Jto9R5ipI

[@ChandanSoberSolo99]

Exceptionally well made. Kudos to the team :)

[@PawanSharma-uu6jx]

Plz upload mira thare kai lage gopal full song in seprate video

[@learninglearning4509]

the last song in this Soni Devi's collection.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/nqTTc6Jto9R5ipI

[@reachbinnie]

Kamaal!

[@jetsking4911]

wonderful storiy of Meera .

[@RAMANKHANDELWAL-]

wonderful work

[@sameerchaudhari7131]

wow!

[@mirbasukhan5524]

बहुत अच्छा waha ji wah

[@YashPatel-pf3ik]

Thanks 🙏 🙏🌷

[@shivangishekhawat.1122]

Meerabai 🌹🙏

[@balwanchauhan8693]

Beautiful

[@dayaramsaroliyaofficial3536]

अद्भुत साहैब बंदगी दी

[@SunithaOlive]

I love all your works and it takes me into a beautiful world of folklore and music. Such simplicity in the music and the hearts that sing these soulful wise words. However I have a request. Can you please increase the font size and make it a dark color as it's not so legible to read quickly before the frame changes. Thanks and God bless. 💗 to Shabnam ma'am and the whole team.

[@rajeshlalwani3588]

Om Prakash Nayakji's ' Ranaji tharo deshlado rangrudo....pls pls need full version of this bhajan 🙏

[@hussaineh89]

I love this song

[@gauravgoel2492]

❤️

[@shrisitaramjikijaiho7141]

Meera was a gopi in her previous birth She still gives darshan to the seekers

[@shrisitaramjikijaiho7141]

Her name in previous birth was “madhvi” You can ask any saint in vrindavan about her

[@dikshagupta3139]

Dil abhi bhara Nahi ye jaldi khatam ho gai

[@anjulvidrohi]

What will our heart say about Meera now- A lover...a saint...a devotee...a rebel...or a poet?