Kaluram Bamaniya

Kaluram Bamaniya is a singer of the poems of Kabir in the folk tradition of Malwa. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2024 in the field of art, from Madhya Pradesh ^[1].

Bhajans after work

He was born on 20 January 1970 in Kanheriya village, Dewas district, to parents who were small farmers and farm labourers ^[2]. His family would sing bhajans at night in the village square after work, and he learned from his father and grandfather, first playing the cymbals and then singing from the age of nine ^[2].

He went to school only up to Class 3 and later completed a literacy course as an adult ^[2]. From 12 he tended cattle for a living ^[2]. At 13 he ran away to Rajasthan, working in a hotel by day and learning bhajans by night, then came home and spent 14 years working almost as a bonded farm labourer ^[2].

Kabir of Malwa

He sings mainly Kabir’s bhajans, as well as those of Mirabai and Gorakhnath, in the local Malwi dialect ^[2]. For two decades he has performed well beyond Malwa, at venues such as the India International Centre in Delhi, Bharat Bhavan in Bhopal, festivals in Pune and Mysuru, and a Kabir festival at the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu ^[2]. He has sung on All India Radio and appeared in documentaries on Kabir ^[2].

He is a member of the Kabir Bhajan and Vichar Manch in Dewas and has trained women and children of the region ^[2]. He has received Madhya Pradesh’s Rashtriya Tulsi Samman ^[2].