INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

3.2. KIRTAN ‒ IN TUNE WITH WORDS
That Guru Granth Sahib was intended to be set to music and performed is evident
from the content and poetic form of the scripture itself: the text is organized according
to the classical musical system of ragas and regional folk tunes. Apart from three
initial compositions (JapJi Sahib, Rahiras Sahib, Kirtan Sohila) and a collection of poems
at the end, the major portion of the scripture is arranged in thirty-one ragas, different
musical modes of both classical and regional kinds, by which the text is indexed.
Individual poems are further subdivided into poetic metres and singing styles, such
as Asthapadi, Var, Ghorian, which assimilate both classical and folk styles of music. The
scripture will even provide detailed musical digits and signs to instruct on the way in
which each hymn should be performed. 499 Similar to what Hammarlund (2001) writes
about “emancipated music” in Turkey and the Middle East, the hymns of Guru
Granth Sahib are rendered as a “poesis” ‒ the effective and aesthetic confluence of
verbal (logos) and musical (melos) components not to be separated. 500
The overarching term for Sikh devotional music is Gurbani Sangit, literally the
“music of the Guru’s utterances“, which in devotional settings and speech is referred
to as Kirtan, “Praises” to the tune of music, or Shabad kirtan, “Praises of the Word”.
Within the North Indian musical language Sikh kirtan falls in the broad category of
“light” (halka) classical music which fuses music and text into a whole and allows for
adoption of popular and folk songs, but still places primacy of word over the musical
delivery. 501 Given this pristine combination of sacred words and music, modern Sikh
musicologists have often displayed interest for technical aspects of kirtan – notations
of ragas, scales, rhythm, and music signs – which has resulted in several publications
that serve as handbooks for performers. As Schreffler (2004) writes, “literature about
this music [gurbani sangit] is written almost entirely by orthodox sacred musicians,
who have concerned themselves primarily with details of music theory.” 502
If century-long debates in the Islamic world have displayed deep concern for
the appropriateness of combining music with divine words of the Koran, 503 discourses
within the Sikh community have been preoccupied with the maintenance of
the original metrical system laid down in Guru Granth Sahib when gurbani and music
are fused in performance, the conflation between popular tunes (e.g., film-music) and
traditional ragas, and the use of modern instruments. 504 Notwithstanding the approval
of music in Sikh worship and the metrical sophistication of the scripture itself,
499
See e.g. Mansukhani 1982, Gurnam Singh 2001.
500
Hammarlund 2001: 40.
501
For definition and characteristic of light classical music, see Qureshi 2006: 47.
502
Schreffler 2004: 1999.
503
See Nelson’s (2001) treatise on the sama polemic in Egypt.
504
These questions frequently surfaced discussions in the local community at Varanasi. See
Manuel for a discussion on different religious stances related to the adoption of film melodies in
Hindu bhajans. Briefly he mentions that Sikh orthodoxy strongly discourages the use of film
tunes in Sikh shabad kirtan (Manuel 1993: 119).
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008