Explore in depth Kabir’s Life, Vision and Songs | Drunk on Love by Vipul Rikhi

prerna.singh@harpercollins.co.in | 25 August 2023

is proud to announce the publication of

Drunk on Love

The Life, Vision and Songs of Kabir

by: Vipul Rikhi

Drunk on Love captures the life of Kabir, his poetry, and his vision, which it explores in depth 

Published by HarperCollins

Paperback | 312 pp | INR 499

Available wherever books are sold | Releasing on 30 August 2023

ABOUT THE BOOK

KABIR is a name that has resounded powerfully in the Indic imagination for over 500 years. But who is Kabir? And what is it about his vision and his poetry that makes him such a vital force, an irresistible voice?

Drunk on Love argues that Kabir is not just one person but an idea that belongs to the people of India, who have preserved and nurtured it as a living tradition over an incredible span of time.

In a flowing, conversational style, the book captures his life as told through popular legends, his poetry which has been quoted and translated extensively, and his vision, which it explores in depth through key concepts such as ‘Jheeni’, ‘Raam’, ‘Guru’, ‘Sahaj’, ‘Shoonya’, and others.

An essential introduction to the phenomenon that is ‘Kabir’, Drunk on Love presents the poet, as he is described, quoted, and loved in popular imagination.

Author, Vipul Rikhi says, ‘Whenever and wherever I perform Kabir songs, people ask me for a book on Kabir which not only captures his life but also the essence of his message. This is that book. Singing Kabir and meeting many lovers of Kabir across India inspired me to write this book, which presents a Kabir who is loved and celebrated by the ordinary people of this country. It brings into one place stories from his life, his most famous songs, as well as his fiercely iconoclastic and inspiring vision.’

Swati Chopra, Associate Publisher, HarperCollins, says, ‘In Drunk on Love, Vipul Rikhi brings the essence of Kabir to a contemporary readership. Through his lived, practical understanding of the centuries-old verses, he reacquaints us with their core wisdom, which we can apply to our own lives. This is Kabir for the modern mind to engage with and learn from.’

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vipul Rikhi is a writer, singer, poet, storyteller, and translator immersed in the oral traditions of Kabir and other Bhakti and Sufi poets for over a decade. He is the author of several books of poetry, fiction, and translation. His most recent books are One Palace, a Thousand Doorways, a book of translations, and I Saw Myself: Journeys with Shah Abdul Latif Bhitai (co-authored).

Vipul’s work with the very well-known Kabir Project has involved writing, translations, research, curations, and the creation of a vast digital archive called ‘Ajab Shahar’. During these magical journeys, he developed a deep love for singing mystic poetry in the folk music traditions and now performs nationally and internationally. He has a wide following through both his writing and his music.

Website: https://vipulrikhi.com/

ABOUT HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS INDIA

HarperCollins is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, having begun publishing in India in 1992. HarperCollins India publishes some of the finest writers from the Indian Subcontinent and around the world, publishing approximately 200 new books every year, with a print and digital catalogue of more than 2,000 titles across 10 imprints. Its authors have won almost every major literary award including the Man Booker Prize, JCB Prize, DSC Prize, New India Foundation Award, Atta Galatta Prize, Shakti Bhatt Prize, Gourmand Cookbook Award, Publishing Next Award, Tata Literature Live! Award, Gaja Capital Business Book Prize, BICW Award, Sushila Devi Award, Sahitya Akademi Award and Crossword Book Award. HarperCollins India also represents some of the finest publishers in the world including Harvard University Press, Gallup Press, Oneworld, Bonnier Zaffre, Usborne, Dover and Lonely Planet. HarperCollins India has won the Publisher of the Year Award four times at Tata Literature Live! in 2022, 2021, 2018 and 2016, and at Publishing Next in 2021 & 2015. HarperCollins India is a subsidiary of HarperCollins Publishers.

30 YEARS OF PUBLISHING IN INDIA

At HarperCollins, we believe in telling the best stories and in finding the widest possible readership for our books in every format possible. We started publishing 30 years ago in India and a great deal has changed since then, but what has remained constant is the passion with which our authors write their books, the love with which readers receive them, and the sheer joy and excitement that we as publishers feel in being a part of the publishing process.

Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of publishing some of the finest writing from the subcontinent and from around the world, and some of the biggest bestsellers in Indian publishing history. Our books and authors have won a phenomenal range of awards, and we ourselves have been named Publisher of the Year several times. But nothing has meant more to us than the fact that millions of people read the books we publish, and somewhere, a book of ours might be making a difference to someone.

As we step into our fourth decade, we go back to that one word – a word which has been a driving force for us all these years:

Read.

Press Contact:

Prerna Singh

Senior Manager – Marketing & Publicity

Email:  Prerna.Singh@HarperCollins.co.in