A short film on the Rababis of Lahore, a community of Pakistani Muslim musicians with deep-rooted ties to the Sikhs by way of a centuries-old music tradition.
Watch TrailerThe rababis are a community of musicians who trace their roots back more than five centuries to Bhai Mardana (1459-1534), a Muslim musician and close disciple of Guru Nanak (1469-1539), founder of the Sikh religious community. Bhai Mardana accompanied and served the Guru his whole life as the pair travelled across South and Central Asia singing songs of divine wisdom and and awakening diverse audiences to the Oneness of the Creator and Creation.
Go behind the scenes and discover the process of shooting the Mardana’s Children film across India and Pakistan.
Co-Producer
Kirit Singh, co-founder of The Mardana Project, is a musician & historian, based in London, UK. He completed his doctorate exploring the history of Sikh patronage of music in colonial Punjab at SOAS University. He is a student of dhrupad vocal music under Pt. Uday Bhawalkar and also a practitioner of shabad kirtan, the sacred music of the Sikhs.
Co-Producer
Jasdeep Singh, co-founder of The Mardana Project, is a musician & scholar of the Punjab gharana of percussion, based in Birmingham, UK. He has studied the rare percussive art of the Jori of Punjab under masters including Ustad Sukhwinder Singh Pinky and Pt. Yogesh Samsi, has conducted research on the history of this tradition, and also published work on the subject.
Filmmaker / DOP
Nathan Drillot is an award-winning filmmaker based in Vancouver, Canada, with over a decade of experience of producing and directing documentary content. He co-runs the production house Salazar Film, whose work has been recognised by Pitchfork, Motionographer, TED, National Geographic, Awardeo, and Vimeo Staff Picks among many others.
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