Following is a recording of Guru Tegh Bahadur's shabad "Ab Main Kaun Upao Karoon" that I recently finished mastering. This is the first of six shabads I collaborated with Pandit Rajendra Prasanna, an eminent classical musician from Delhi. The shabad is sung in Raag Dhanasri, and a downloadable version of this shabad, like others, is available on
Reverbnation. Hopefully I will post some more shabads from that collaboration, and from others that I currently am in.
Over one of the recent weekends, I had the chance to listen to the wonderful Asa ki Vaar at a residence in California. Bhai Kultar Singh sang some shabads that we used to hear from his father, Bhai Avtar Singh. I had my iPhone with me so I recorded two of the shabads.
The first shabad is in Raag Bilawal, Prabh ji too mere praan adhaare:
Bilawal -
Prabh ji too mere praan adhaare - Bhai Kultar Singh
Here is a list of some Asa ki Vaar recordings that I like. Also notice our blog post related to this topic:
Asa KI Vaar or Asa DI Vaar?
The first recording one is done by Bhai Baljeet Singh and Bhai Gurmeet Singh with tanti saaz (although a better mastering job is definitely possible here):
Asa ki Vaar - Bhai Baljeet Singh, Bhai Gurmeet Singh
Late last year there was a Raag Kirtan Darbar in Rajouri Garden, Delhi. I have been listening to these shabads over the past month. Following are my favorites from this program:
Todi -
Heeyo Re Garab Kahelaro - Bhai Gurmeet Singh Shaant
Gauri Bairagan -
Meraa Taanda Laadeya Jaye - Bhai Baljit/Gurmeet Singh (Namdhari)
Bihagra -
Vad Sukh Rainariye - Bibi Parampreet Kaur
Here is a complete List of Shabads
Pictures from the recent earthquake in Haiti have been heartbreaking. I saw some different kinds of pictures from Haiti today. These were heart warming pictures. Those of of Sikhs embracing Haitians, Sikhs serving hot food to people in Haiti. I was ecstatically surprised, and filled with pleasure and pride seeing the following:
United Sikhs Haiti News. And the scale is fantastic -- the United Sikhs is serving langar to 5000 needy people in Haiti. Kudos!
I always find raag-ful Shabad Kirtan enchanting; however, oftentimes the recording quality available on the web is disappointing. And I know you can empathize with these sentiments.
Which is why I point the effort at
gurmatsangeetdarbar.com. Present here are probably some of the better available live recordings on the internet. Try listening to some of those recordings on a headphone or a superior amplifier system. As you can hear, these recordings are definitely a treasure for us and future generations. And, thankfully for me, and the rest of kirtan premis, a treasure that seems to be growing gradually.
The recordings involve usage of large diaphragm microphones, which are a lot more sensitive in picking up nuances. And nuances are so important to classical music. Recently the recordings are done in a multi-track format, which can be later mixed.
While we enjoy the outcome of these, all this this takes a tremendous amount of time and effort. So we are thankful to Ajit Singh ji who does the recordings and manages the website. I will continue to write about these recordings as more are available.
Since it is the winter season, several new Raag Tukhari recordings can be found in the most recent posting at the site. Usage of shudha ma and komal ni differentiate Tukhari from Madhuvanti. My favorite Tukhari in this program is by Bhai Devinder Singh/Gulbagh Singh:
Tukhari - Antar Piree Piaar - Devinder-Gulbagh Singh
The rest of the recordings from this program can be found here:
Malton Oct 4And before I bid happy thanksgiving, I want to point out that yesterday, sikhnet.com started its new audio offering:
http://www.sikhnet.com/gurbani. This looks very interesting and adds a 'social' theme to the listening of Gurbani and adds some really innovative features. Two that stood out in my first drive: when you click on one shabad, you can get renditions of the same shabad by other artists; the media player includes a rolling translation of the shabad. Kudos Gurmustuk!!!
"Guru Nanak" in Raag Bageshri:
On several previous occasions I have heard US presidents, including Presidents Bush and Clinton, give warm greetings on the birthday of Guru Nanak. This year, President Obama message on Diwali included a mention of Guru Hargobind Sahib and Bandi Chhorh Diwas:
Then we have the age old discussion whether Diwali is for Sikhs or not. Although most of the discussion around this topic is not worth spending time on, in my opinion, I did find an interesting article on sikhphilosophy.net of which at least one idea I wholeheartedly empathize with, and that is the first line of a shabad should not, in most circumstances be used as a refrain and sung repeatedly because it tends to change the central purpose of the shabad.
For this reason, I think it is incumbent upon us, those who sing Gurbani, and even more so for composers who have the privilege of arranging music to support Gurbani, to keep the central meaning of the shabad in mind while choosing refrains and doing the whole composition.
Popular compositions for beautiful shabads like Jo Maange Thakur, Paati Torai Maalini, Bhoolai Maarag Jineh Bataaya, and Lakh Khushian Patshaiyan use the wrong refrain -- the first line of the shabad. Incorrect repitition provides incorrect emphasis and tends to make us forget key words from the rahao which are closer to the central meaning of these shabads: Har jan raakhai, Bhooli Maalini, Simar manaa raam naam, and Ekas syon chit laye, respectively.
In the past few years this has been one of the leading guiding principles for Gurbani music composition (even ahead of nirdharit raag compositions). I have myself sung all these shabads using the wrong refrain; and now I have started singing all these shabads using refrains prescribed in the Guru Granth Sahib. And I have learned that the beauty of these shabads is far beyond than what I have been able to enjoy.
For this reason, even though the following rendition of Simar Manaa is not in Bilawal, I prefer the following composition over the next one by Bhai Harjinder Singh (Srinagar wale):
Simar Manaa:
Lakh Khushiyan:
I was surfing this morning and found that Sikhnet was broadcasting a live video of the Baisakhi program at LA. I remember having attended this program several years ago. It is fantastic to be able to see this event from miles away, and also to imagine that, in the future, we will have multiple live video streams to watch. Also, pretty nice to see chatters converse while the kirtan is going on. If you get this blogpost in time (if you are subscribed), you can visit this site and see the programs live now:
http://www.justin.tv/sikhnetAnd I found another one; this is our Gurudwara in Espanola, New Mexico. If you tune in now you can hear kirtan done using tanti saaz.
http://www.mogulus.com/hgrdWaheguru!!! Wonderful!
Time of Post: 11 AM, April 12 (Pacific Standard Time).
