Songs of Protest From South Asia
- Sara Kazmi
- College of Arts & Sciences, Department of English
-
Independent Creative Production Grant
Sara Kazmi will compose, arrange, and record Songs of Protest from South Asia, a musical album that showcases anticolonial and anti-dictatorship poetry from India and Pakistan. Drawing on 13 years of experience as a vocalist trained in Indian classical music and her scholarship on South Asian protest art, Kazmi will present creative musical interpretations of archival and contemporary poetry authored by feminist, anti-dictatorship and anticolonial movements that have faced censorship and state repression in South Asia. This international collaboration between Philadelphian and Pakistani musicians engaged in social justice movements will produce an EP, featuring 3-5 tracks; each an original musical interpretation of South Asian poetry ranging from the anti-caste verses of 15th century popular bard Kabir, to 20th century anticolonial verses protesting British colonial repression, and contemporary feminist anthems composed by student movements.