Vandana Vishwas

Meera—The Lover…

By David Luhrssen

 Meera Bai was a 16th-century Hindu woman whose devotional poetry to Krishna crossed between the spiritual and the physical. She claimed, perhaps not unlike some Catholic mystics in a different context, to be the bride of Krishna. The Indian-born Canadian singer Vandana Vishwas’ song cycle based on Meera Bai’s poems, Meera—The Lover…, is rooted in classical raga yet presented with a light touch in melodies and arrangements of shimmering sitar pop. Vishwas’ voice glides up and down the scale with ease, expressing pain, joy and, sometimes, unworldly delight.