Sahiban Speaks:
Rupinder Kaur and Vibs Bhatia bring the voices of Heer, Sohni, Sassi and Sahiban from the land of five rivers, Panjab alive through music and poetry.
Where are actual the voices of Heer, Sassi, Sohni, Sahiban: these four women are the heroines from the the four tragic love tales of Panjab: Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punnun, Sohni-Mahiwal and Mirza-Sahiban. Interestingly Mirza-Sahiban is the only tale where the name of the male comes before the female, it is also noted to be the last love tale of Panjab. These tales have made their way to present day Panjab and its diaspora through music, not so much poetry anymore.
The folk tales are mostly always written, sung and spoken by men. This performance by Rupinder and Vibs questions the narratives from hundreds of years bringing forward the perspective of women and love as a revolution. Highlighting why Heer Sohni, Sassi and Sahiban’s characters are just as important in today’s day.
This performance was first commissioned by
JAAG: Panjabi & Pahari-Pothwari Language and Literature Festival.
Photo from performance at Jaag Festival.
Vibs is an upcoming Brit-Indian artist, born and raised in Birmingham. She specialises in fusion music singing in Hindi, Punjabi and English alongside playing guitar. More recently spending time in the Orchestral Qawwali Project team, she’s developing her range in sufi and qawwali genres. Vibs channels her passions for climate change and sustainability working in consulting full time and runs an online campaign – South Asians for Sustainability.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vibsbhatiamusic/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VibsBhatiaMusic
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/VibsBhatia1?feature=watch
Exchange Festival is part of the Diving In Programme funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund
