INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

for an aspiring granthi, Bhai Jiopal, who had completed one year of the giani course at
the Gurmat Vidhyale in Patna. Under supervision of Bhai Sukhdev, Bhai Jiopal worked
as an assistant granthi in Gurubagh Gurdwara for eight years and during the period
of apprenticeship developed a very affectionate relationship to his teacher. Bhai
Sukhdev stirred up Bhai Jiopal’s interest for the profession and taught him various
techniques on how to memorize gurbani hymns and fully exploit the vocal powers for
recitations. “You listen to Granthi ji and try to recite in that way. You get it by practice,
memory and practice, day by day… Because of his company I got my voice and
my way of reciting. People were confused and said our voices are similar,” Bhai
Jiopal said. Gradually Bhai Jiopal took responsibility for the daily duties in the gurdwara,
and, when considered qualified, he was appointed to the post of head granthi at
Nichibagh Gurdwara. This traditional model of education seems to be a quite common
way of pursuing a career in all the categories of Sikh performers. One starts as
an assistant granthi under the supervision of a senior reciter and by years of practice
work one’s way up to become a fully-fledged granthi, or even head granthi. An aspiring
expounder (kathakar) or propagandist (pracharak) may follow a successful and
knowledgeable teacher for decades to observe and listen to discourses, take notes and
analyze how the senior performer structures interpretations of Guru Granth Sahib
and commentaries on Sikh history. 374
It still remains that formal education and a letter of recommendation from any
of the modern Sikh educational institutes are an easier springboard into the career,
especially for granthis and ragis dependent on permanent employment in the gurdwara.
When the local gurdwara committee is in need of a ragi jatha or granthi they will
advertise in newspapers and contact the Sikh educational institutes which today send
trained performers to Sikh congregations all over India. The Sikh missionary colleges
regularly organize camps for a week or two during which both students and teachers
get a chance to demonstrate their skill and establish contacts for possible future employment.
Members of the gurdwara committee in Varanasi were frequently attending
religious programs in the Punjab and elsewhere to listen to musicians, who were
later invited for festival days. Another popular means through which people may
evaluate a ragi group or reciter is tape recordings. Since cassettes are produced and
distributed at a cheap rate, established performers of local and regional fame can
easily promote their artistic skill through demo-tapes intended for devotional practices.
Others, who lack formal education and other means to exhibit their qualifications,
may still have good chances of employment if a known community member
will stand surety for their ability. Before making a contract of employment the local
Sikh community is likely to organize a trial performance when the congregation is
invited to evaluate how the performer behaves to community members and how he
374
When Giani Sant Singh Maskin visited Varanasi in 2001 one of his student since 1978 was
video recording his exegetical exposition (katha) for the purpose of analysing and learning from
the performance.
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008