If one wishes to sing Ragas there is different platform for that. While doing Kirtan we are not there to present our skills in Raga singing. Kirtan is presentation of Gurbani, it’s not rendering Ragas. Ragas are just the base for the language of Music. While doing Kirtan it is Guru's Bani that is important and not the Ragas. We try our best to keep Gurbani as main presentation. We keep Ragas as the base of all our singing and use it as a vehicle to sing Guru's Bani.
In this process we are trying to distribute Guru's Shabads to as many as possible. However, Dya Singh would agree whole- heartedly with Bibi Gurpreet kaur ji’s response to some of my questions, “We at Gurmat Gian Group are trying in our humble way to sing Guru's Bani and enjoy it to the maximum. Perhaps this is not the place to comment on ladies singing at Darbar Sahib. Why ‘lady jathas’ of this calibre are not allowed to do Kirtan at Darbar Sahib, even today, is a mystery to me!” Renowned Gurbani sangeetkar, Dya Singh of Australia, commented, “The renditions of these lovely ladies paint an inner beauty and piety which sadly seems to be missing in our current crop of (male) ragis. “Hamaray Eh Kirpa kijjay” in raag Kalyan to the beat of jhaptaal (10 beats) and teentaal (16 beats) is again sung in deep Ardaas mode.Īnd so on, each and every Shabad is the Guru’s Message delivered directly to the Kirtan rassia’s inner being. In Shabad “Gur Parbrahm Parmeshar Aap”, individual rendition of Pankti, “Jaag re mann jagan haaray” are pleas to the “mann”, the inner self to awaken to the Presence of the Guru, the Ultimate Reality. Sung probably in Raag Malhar (I am not an expert), this Shabad, like so many others by the Group, brings out the musical miracle of four angelic voices in perfect harmony, individual renditions and changes in taal (beat) between jhap (10 beats), teentaal (16 beats) and ektaal (yakka of 12 beats) – all rendered effortlessly. The spirituality and depth of Ardaas is felt in Shabads like “Hey Sansaar Taap Harnay”. If the delivery of this Shabad in perfect sur-taal touches the human atma (soul), then surely the message must reach the Param-Atma, Akal Purakh, the Timeless Lord of the human soul-bride also. The title of the Gurmat Gian Group’s “blog” on the internet of “Oha Prem Piri” describes the bir-ha (longing) deep down in every human heart. Indeed, in their deeply meditative Kirtan they represent the universal human soul, longing for union with the Beloved Lord, the Creator Being. Wrote Gyani Jarnail Singh of Malaysia, “This is exactly the way Ilahi (divine) Gurbani should be sung, in perfect taal, sur ….I congratulate these soul-brides of our Beloved Guru.” Gyani Ji’s Gurbani expression “soul-brides” captures the ethos of the divine Kirtan by the Bibian of the Gurmat Gian Group, Keerat Kaur, Japjit Kaur and joining them in some Shabads, Jasleen Kaur, all led by Bibi Gurpreet Kaur ji. Gurbani Kirtan “rassias” (spiritual listeners) seem to run out of superlatives when expressing their appreciation of Kirtan by the Bibian of the Gurmat Gian Group. I heard the theme Shabad, “Oha Prem Piri” and was left speechless ! Became deeply interested in this remarkable initiative at Ludhiana, in central Panjab, my home city.
It was on 8 August that Dr Manbir Singh of Gurmat Gian Group copied me in on his e-mail to a number of Sikhs in the diaspora with two introductory lines, “Welcome to Kirtan by Young Sikh Women Musicians of Gurmat Gian Group. (Note for non-Panjabi readers: Meanings of Panjabi words are given below the article *) Gurbani Kirtan by “Soul Brides of Our Beloved Guru”
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