Folk Singer
Prahlad Singh Tipanya
Prahlad Singh Tipanya—one of the most compelling folk voices of Kabir in India today—combines singing and explanation of Kabir bhajans in the folk style of the Malwa region of Madhya Pradesh. Prahladji combines a powerful singing style with a magnetic ability to communicate with his audiences.
His concerts are more than entertaining music. They are deep engagements with the spiritual and social thought of Kabir. In Malwa he is not only admired as a singer, but also revered as one who propagates, with great personal intensity and engagement, the messages of Kabir. His concerts stress the need to rise above petty divisiveness, sectarianism, empty ritualism and hypocrisy, and the need to adopt love as the ultimate religion.
He has performed for audiences at local, state, national and international levels. Since 1980 his voice has been heard on All India Radio stations in Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Patna, Lucknow and Kanpur. He has also been a frequent artist on Doordarshan. In 2003 his troupe performed in London, then toured the US for over two months. In 2005 he went to Pakistan, and in 2009 there was another two-month tour of Canada and the US. His awards include Malwa Ratna, hrestha Kala Acharya, Isuri Samman, Bhajan Bhushan, Madhya Pradesh ka Shikhar Samman, the Sangeet Natak Academy award and most recently the Padma Shri award.
