By the Vrishabhavathi River Monthly Gathering• July 2026
We were deeply honoured when Padma Shri Prahlad Singh Tipaniya ji accepted our invitation to sing by the river. To sing for the Vrishabhavathi and with the Vrishabhavathi.
Word spread and many people gathered on her banks to listen. There was a slight nip in the air and an occasional drizzle. Beside us, the Vrishabhavathi flowed quietly. A river that we so often speak about through the pollution she carries was, that evening, a place where people came together.
And then there was Kabir Vani.
We listened, we swayed with the music and we were completely immersed in Prahlad ji’s singing. The sound of the river was always there. At times it felt as though the Vrishabhavathi herself was part of the music.
Perhaps that is what made the evening so special. We were not looking at the river from a distance or talking about what was wrong with her. We were simply spending time with her. Listening, singing and experiencing the river as a living presence in our city.
What made it even more special was seeing how much Prahlad ji himself seemed to enjoy singing there. His joy was infectious and the simplicity and depth of his Kabir Vani held all of us.
It was the river, the rain, the people and Kabir coming together.
A true By the River experience. And a reminder of why we need to come back to our rivers, spend time with them and begin to see them differently.
Participants Sharing
Priyadarshini – She anchored most of the sessions in the first year of our ‘by the River’ initiative. She sketched this with a brush pen and she says “Brush pen sketch done yesterday to etch the memory more deeply. Sharing with heartfelt gratitude for a very special morning”
Priya’s Sketch of the Kabir Vani by the river.
