#shair schedule for 6th Aug to 11th Aug 2012

6th Aug : #MyShair ( members please tweet your 10 fav #shair experiences and how and why you joined)This will be put on the blog to document everyone's efforts and journey


7th Aug : #safar

8th Aug : #Akbar Allahabadi

9th Aug : #random (be-tarteeb) members can tweet any verse here, it may or may not be their favorite, just something which has caught their eye at the moment

10th Aug :#bhakti poets (see Note)

11th Aug : #myfav


NOTE : on Bhakti poets

Kabir,Tulsidas, Meerabai,Janabai ,Bahinabai or Bahina, Akkamahadevi, also known as Akka or Mahadevi,Premanand, the Manbhatt of Gujarat and members can suggest more names.

Note:
1. Janabai was born around the 13th century in Maharashtra in a low-caste sudra family. As a young girl she was sent to work in the upper-caste family of Namdev, one of the most revered of the bhakti poet saints. While within this household, she continued to serve Namdev, both as a servant and as his devotee. Janabai wrote over three hundred poems focusing on domestic chores and the restrictions facing her as a low-caste woman.

2. Bahinabai or Bahina was a poet-saint from 17th century Maharashtra, writing in the form of abangas, women’s songs that accompanied their labors, especially in the fields.

3. Akkamahadevi, also known as Akka or Mahadevi was a bhakta from the southern region of Karnataka and a devotee of Shiva in the 12th century CE. Legends tell of her wandering naked in search of her Divine Lover; her poetry, or vacanas tell of her frustration with societal norms and roles that restricted her.

4. Premanand, the Manbhatt of Gujarat :The tradtion of Brahmins (Bhatt) drumming on earthen or copper pots (mann) with their ringed fingers while narrating akhayans – melodious poetical compositions describing in detail, episodes from epics like Ramayana and Mahabharat is unique to Gujarat.
Born in Vadodara, Gujarat in the 17th century, Kavi Premanand was one such Manbhatt who raised the standard of Gujarati bhakti poetry with his akhayans to new heights. His simple yet vivid compositions reflected the life and culture of common people of Gujarat during the Mughal period