Project Gurbani Recording (Kanwal Jit Singh, Delhi – 9810314120)
Guru Tegh Bahadur was born on 18 April 1621 and was the epitome of humility and sacrifice. His thoughts on Social Justice and the Protection of Human Rights do not find much reference in history. Guru Sahib’s 400th birth anniversary is being celebrated since 2021. The Adi Granth was completed in 1604 by Guru Arjan. Guru Tegh Bahadur’s Bani was added by Guru Gobind Singh in Sri Guru Granth Sahib (SGGS) at Damdama Sahib in 1704.
Guru Sahib’s Bani comprises 59 Shabads in 15 Raags (4 in Raag Jaijaiwanti), and 57 Shaloks. He was a great musician and learned to play various musical instruments as per the Ragas. This is the first project in which all his verses are recited by 11 different artists from across India in the same Raags in which they were originally composed. The format is audio-visual and Bhai Baljit Singh Namdhari and Bhai Kultar Singh are its directors. Our work started in October 2021 with Bhai Randhir Singh and we have completed seven out of eleven recordings.
Attempts had been made earlier to record Guru Sahib’s Bani, the earliest being in 1975 during the 300th Shahidi Purab and released by HMV (a music company). This featured only 14 out of 59 Shabads sung by various artists including Bhai Dharam Singh Zakhmi, Bhai Hari Singh, Manna Dey, and Neelam Sahni.
This Project was conceived in 2020 under a larger project: Sher-e-Shamsher to commemorate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib. It had four parts. (a) Footsteps: A docuseries to document the travel of Guru Sahib, (b) Bani: To record all the Bani of Guru Sahib in an audio-visual format (c) Publication: A coffee table book on Life and Times of Guru Sahib, and (d) Daastan: A flexible musical performance on Guru’s Life and Times. Due to pandemic and financial constraints, the project currently does not have Daastan. However, the recording of Bani started in 2021, by four Kirtaniyas (Gurbani singers) and seven renowned musicians.
Main Singers: Bhai Randhir Singh (Amritsar) who served in Darbar Sahib during 1999-2020), a disciple of legendary Bhai Bakshish Singh, Bhai Kultar Singh (Delhi), son of legendary Bhai Avtar Singh, Bhai Jaspinder Singh (Hoshiarpur) Raagi at Darbar Sahib, Uday Bhawalkar (Pune), exponent of Drupad, disciple of Zia Fariduddin Dagar, Manju Shah Patil (Pune) who adopts Khayal form, a disciple of Sangeet Acharya Pt. D V Kanebuwa of Agra and Gwalior Gharanas, Manjari Kelkar (Nasik), a Khayal singer trained by legendary Kishori Amonkar, Padma Talwalkar, and Dr Meeta Pandit of Gwalior Gharana.
Accompanists include Mohan Shyam Sharma – Pakhawaj player, Arshad Khan- Esraj and Dilruba player, Akhtar Hassan, Shambu Nath Bhattacharjee, Tabla players, Varun Debnath, Prashant Tyagi, Ustad Fayaz Khan, and Pt Suresh Talwalkar who play Pakhawaj and Tabla. Others include Harpreet Singh Raina who plays Rabab in Darbar Sahib, Satvir Singh Tabla and Jori player with Bhai Jaspinder Singh, and Gurmeet Singh who plays Dilruba.
We had planned to record all the Bani of Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib with 11 artists in nine audio sessions and 11 video sessions to complete the pre-production work. We have so far completed six sessions of audio and six sessions of video and one session of audio/video recordings. One Shabad each is in Raag Asa and Bihagara, and three each in Raag Bilawal, Ramkali, Tilang, Maru, Jaitsari, and Devgandhari. Four Shabads are each in Sarang, Jaijaiwanti and Dhanasari. Five Shabads are in Raag Basant, nine in Raag Gauri, 12 in Sorath. We have recorded a total of 41 Shabads and 18 more have to be recorded along with 57 Shaloks. The audios have been in one of the best studios Sound Lab in NCR near Delhi and videos in 4K format in locations visited by Guru Sahib; Gurudwaras Manji Sahib Kaithal, Bangla Sahib Rohtak, Guru ke Mehal Amritsar, Chola Sahib Baba Bakala, Rakabganj New Delhi, Bahadurgarh Patiala, Bhora Sahib at Anandpur Sahib.
It is said that Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’s Bani represents only detachment (Vyrag). However, Sorath Raag depicts belief and Gauri depicts striving harder, so the Raags in which 21 of 59 Shabads are composed depict a sense of optimism. Another point is Guru Sahib’s reference to Ajamal and Ganka. These examples are given to tell people that if they can change, any normal human being can also do so. Some scholars like Bhai Kewal Singh, Ex -athedar of Takht Damdama Sahib feel that labeling Guru Sahib’s Bani was a deliberate attempt to limit its reach. Bhai Dharam Singh Zakhmi said that the Bani of Guru Sahib is in fact different, which is Rasik Vyaragi.
There is a great message in the Bani which has not yet reached people in an effective way. This project is intended to reach a wider cross-section of humanity without any change or loss of its essence. In our recordings, Bani is sung in the original Raags in which Guru Sahib had composed it and is sung by eminent musicians from across the demography, which would help in a wider reach.
This Project needs support for the completion and initiation of the next project (Footsteps), which involves travel to 151 locations in Punjab, Haryana, Bihar, Assam, West Bengal, and Bangladesh to film and document heritage associated with Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib’s visits to these places.
ਸਾਂਝੀ ਵਿਰਾਸਤ 