Sikh Music – Who really knows what it is?


by Guru Das Singh Khalsa and Kudrat Kaur Khalsa

With the abundant spread of various types of Gurbani Kirtan musicians, from that of uniformed jathas in matching colors to tiny Babas in white, one waja or two with Tabla, religious formalism, Bollywood melodies, to the flamboyant avante-garde, who sing the street language of Panjab or adopted cultures, western instruments and styles, and even Rap versions of Banis comes the question,What is really Sikh Music? From time to time, we hear terms bandied about - like Gurbani Sangeet, Gurmat Sangeet, Kirtan Maryada, Raag Kirtan, or Sikh Musicology - from those who want to appear knowledgeable about the Music of the Sikhs. Some of these terms are formidable and are frightening enough to scare adults, much less children.

How many actually know, then, what it means when we speak of Kirtan in the way the Guru intended it to be sung? There is one scholar who has made it his life's work. Surinder Singh, director of Sikh Musical Heritage and Raj Academy of Asian Music in London, is a Sikh Musicologist. He is ready to answer questions like – How many Raags are there in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib?
What musical styles were performed in Guru Ji's Darbar?
What instruments were used and promoted by the Sikh Gurus to express their Divine Poetry?
What is Raag and why is it important or relevant today?

In Southall, England, and surrounding areas every week, devoted Sikh and non-Sikh students alike are immersing themselves in the Guru's own musical discipline, learning how to express the vast number of moods that accompany Guru Ji's message, in Gurbani, which balances the mind and expresses the wisdom of the soul. "Professor" (title affectionately applied by his grateful students) Surinder Singh is busy at work, teaching many classes weekly, while not recording or on tour. His lessons, while not costing a monetary fee due to BTEC funding, nonetheless are challenging, insightful, and revealing. When asked how he teaches, he replied that his philosophy is that a student should find out "for himself" what Guru Ji's advice for us is and, more importantly, to follow that advice – music is no exception!

If you walk into the Raj Academy classroom, you will see an amazing array of exotic musical instruments, attributed to the Sikh Gurus and important to Sikh music – the Sarangi (promoted by Guru Hargobind) and Dilruba (designed by students of Guru Gobind Singh), the Taus (created by Guru Gobind Singh), the Saranda (designed by played by Guru Arjan Dev Ji) , Taarshahnai, Taanpura, and Tabla - plus some later added instruments like the Sitar, Santoor, and Sarod (other instruments are targeted for future instruction…the Rabab (played by Mardana with Guru Nanak), Mridang or Pakhawaj, Jodi, Shehnai, Bansuri flute, and western Strings, Brass, and Percussion). Surinder Singh uses demanding exercises – paltas – to develop the voice and the traditional instrumental technique in the subtleties of traditional sound and phrasing of Gurbani Kirtan. Then, he teaches the concepts about Sikh music, usually left out or misunderstood, along with composition, improvisation, and the singing and playing of Shabads in the Raag and style appointed by Guru Ji to express the mood.

He explains that Gurmat Sangeet is, literally, the Guru's Music and has its own prescribed format (given by Guru Arjan Dev Ji, himself!). He gives the example of his own childhood encounter with reading Paath when he was reading Rehiraas and came upon ‘Asa Mahala Panjwa'. He said he was fairly good at Hindi, and could understand the Gurbani verse in the Shabad; he also understood ‘Mahala 5' as referring to the author, Guru Arjan Dev Ji. But when it came to ‘Asa', he had to ask his Grandma "What is this?" She realized that he had an inquisitive mind; she sent him to a teacher of Gurmat Sangeet who taught him for five years in the old master-apprentice Indian system, Guru-Shishya Parampara, learning the tradition at the feet of the master.

So can an average Sikh learn and apply what he did from a personal master? Surinder Singh replies, "Yeah, no problem. That's why the Guru used (teachings from) different Bhagats, from the Hindu religion, from the Muslim community…there's no boundary. You know, Siri Guru Granth Sahib Ji has a message for everybody…the Guru took that concept out, that – ‘you do this, you do that'. He says ‘if you want to do something, you find it (in the teachings, the wisdom of the music and poetry), everything is there, whatever you think if usable for you!' So, regardless of whether you are Muslim, or Hindu, or Sikh, or Jewish, or Christian…doesn't really matter. If you want to have a good life, then go sort it out, study it and apply it…you'll be happy."
So Meré Mun is a statement (or theme) which represents the whole project? Surinder replies, "It says "My Mind". It stands for a dialogue – from the Soul to the Dear Mind. Creating a balance, serving our (inner) Self, using Guru's technology. It is all about Mind(!)… bringing the negativity in our mind to neutral ground. So the Raag is done to express that mood."
"The whole of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib is only about one thing - the Mind. So whatever Shabad you will pick, it is all about the mind and emotion, (and how to put it in a poised, neutral state of equilibrium)." We projected, "Well, with 59 shabads we are talking about 59 different compositions in (all) different moods, 59 contrasting (mental states)?!"
Surinder: "Yes, but because we live it, it's not excessive. Because we can feel it…we go through those moods every single day, so (the problem is) approachable. There is a mood, and a mood within that mood…something is added in and creates another mood. For example, the Fifth Guru also started a trend of fusion…something like ‘East meets West'. This is fusion music. The trend given by the Fifth Guru…was that South and North Indian music were mixed together. Also, he mixed two, (and three) moods together, and what we practice today in Indian music, called misharat raagas. So Guru Arjan Dev Ji created lots of raags Gauri Chaytee, Gauri Bairaagan, Maaru Kaaf^, Tilang Kaafi, and Aasaa Kaaf^. (An example using English versions)…mixing anger and a little amount of happiness in there makes what? So (that) also gives us a lot of room for other things to explore. It's not just the 59 raags, but the basic threads, the basic formulas are there.This is the way you can really find out who you are! That is how it was done, because everything can be felt."

I asked Surinder how Sikh Musical Heritage got it's start and what was his plan. He said, "I had a dream. Rather than looking for grants and looking for charities we thought,…I know this much. Who knows what's happening tomorrow? I may not live for that long. So let's compile everything together, whatever information and to whatever extent we can put in, at the moment. So I composed the whole of the basic system of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib…all the 59 Raagas (including the mishrat, or mixed Raags, usually considered variations) from the Siri Guru Granth Sahib, all the styles existing in the Siri Guru Granth Sahib (Dhrupad, Khayl, Dhamr, Partl, Carnatic, Semi-Classical, Folk, Hindu Bhajan) and with all the instruments given to us by the Sikh Gurus; we used those, and found the people who can realize the performance of those instruments. We recorded it here in England with a book…200 pages in it, explaining about Musicology, meanings, and terminology (the how to's) so the missing link can be established for people who really want to do something in the future to do a better job for Sikh Music. We are just working to create a library, trying to restore it and then, of course, to revive it."

"This project became the 8 CD set, Meré Mun. "We started recording in 2000. It was our Millennium project. We had great people here from India - Pandit Brij Narayan composed the music for the instrumental parts of it (Pandit Ji is the son of Pandit Ram Narayan and is greatly experienced as Sarod soloist and arranger for Bollywood film industry, TV, and radio). The basic composition, in the CDs, was composed and sung by my self. And we also had people like Surjit Singh, who has great experience in accompanying Gurmat Sangeet (on Sarangi) in the Namdhari sect, and Ranbir Singh, one of the few Taus players in the Sikh community. I was quite delighted to have those people on board. We also had very experienced people in the industry, so we were not all muddled up with the popular music (genres), like Sunil Kant Gupta on Flute, he was a great helping-hand to us. We had Pandit Kishan Maharaj's disciple Sukhdev Singh, playing Tabla for us, and Narinder Pal Singh. Also we had Ustad Allah Rakha Khan's disciple, Jitender Pal Singh on Pakhawaj."

As Surinder puts it, Meré Mun, or My Dear Mind, (which can be obtained through the website – www.sikhmusicalheritage.com ) is the curriculum for his students at Raj Academy ( www.rajacademy.com ) and can be used by anyone who wants to investigate Sikh Music the way the Gurus intended it to be sung. The book, printed in English (the Shabads are in Gurmukhi) includes an introduction to the Guru's Concept of Music in relation to Gurbani, the scales and main pitches of the Raag, an explanation of the mood and psychology of the Raag, and the Shabad expressed in that Raag, with Roman transliteration and English translation. Other educational recording projects to follow will include the Dhuniya and Vaaran of the Siri Guru Granth Sahib.

The professional corps of teachers at Raj Academy – Surinder Singh (vocals and Saranda), Ustad Surjit Singh (Sarangi), Ustad Ranbir Singh (Taus), and Ustad Balbir Singh (Tabla) - and student Kudrat Kaur Khalsa (Taanpura) are planning to tour with the Asian Music Circuit here in the UK, and then in Gurdwaras in the United States in August, in order to spread awareness of Gurmat Sangeet and Sikh Musicology. Tentatively, the jatha will be going to lead Kirtan in the Midwest, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. Later, Surinder Singh says he wants to take Raj Academy on tour, as well.

Students of Raj Academy Guru Das Singh and Kudrat Kaur Khalsa, of 3HO/Sikh Dharma, came to London from America, last September, to study Sikh music and Raag (Guru Das Singh is also a Post Graduate student of Ethnomusicology at the School of Oriental and African Studies – University of London, specializing in Indian Classical Music and Gurmat Sangeet). As Kudrat Kaur states, "We feel very blessed to have wandered into a classroom where Surinder Singh was teaching Gurmat Sangeet. The voices of the string instruments could be heard throughout the building and as we peeked into the class to observe, both of us knew we had found the right people to study with. We were not looking for a scholar per sé, but someone who had a devotion and a personal experience of ‘Shabad Guru', someone who had knowledge of the Raga, its importance today, and a mastery of the original instruments and their history."

"In our first conversation with Surinder he asked us why we were wanting to study and since the classes are free, what could we give in return. We told him of our love for Guru and our promise was to learn as much as we could so that we could teach others. ‘Isn't that what it is all about? Something worth having is worth sharing' and we hope to inspire many who may wish to learn in this same simple way. All it costs is a little devotion and hard work but the payoff is without question and gives each student something personal, something very special. For me, practicing Gurmat Sangeet with my Dilruba gives a very intimate time each day between myself and Guru and a deeper understanding of what Sikhi is truly all about."