INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

DAILY SERVICES
In a gurdwara there are generally four different so-called chaunki ‒ “periods” or services
of kirtan which the ragis are to perform daily. The number of services has
changed over time and at important Sikh sites, such as the historical places like Harimandir
Sahib at Amritsar, there might have been between five to nine sessions. 508 In
Varanasi the ragis answer for three chaunkis that are carried out at fixed times in a day
and aim to convey particular gurbani compositions: in the early morning hour they
will sing the hymn Asa di var, at sunset Rahiras Sahib, and just before the reading the
Sukhasan ceremony there is another session called Arti. Reharas Sahib is the hymn
which Amritdhari Sikhs are obliged to recite daily at sunset and has already been
discussed in a previous section of this chapter. In the gurdwara the ragi will melodiously
sing the whole composition during a chaunki which is scheduled for 6 pm and
takes about thirty minutes to complete. The performances of the other two compositions
‒ Asa di Var and Arti ‒ should be briefly commented upon.
Asa di Var is a ballad (var) comprising of twenty-four rhyming pauris or stanzas
of Guru Nanak, each of which are preceded by two or more smaller poems (shlokas)
by Guru Nanak and Guru Angad that in terms of content and form are placed in a
dialectic relationship to the stanza. 509 As the name reveals, Guru Nanak composed the
hymn in the popular heroic measure of a ballad (var), and the text was later on organized
under Rag Asa in the Sikh scripture. As prescribed in the opening of the ballad, it
should be performed in the so-called Tunde Asraje ki dhuni ‒ a particular regional folk
tune (dhuni), named after the legendary King As who had one of his arms amputated
as result of a false allegation by his step-mother and consequently was called the
cripple (tunda). 510 A legend tells that court-poets composed heroic ballads in a special
tune to praise the pious deeds of King As. The style became a popular folk tune in the
Punjab, which Guru Arjan adopted for the composition Asa di var.
In the gurdwaras of Varanasi Asa di var is the first composition the ragis perform
in the morning subsequent to the congregational reading of Sukhmani Sahib and the
508
According to Pashaura Singh, there were eight chaunkis of kirtan at Harimandir Sahib from
the time of Guru Arjan up to the nineteenth century, whereas today there are normally five
kirtan sessions (Pashaura Singh 2000: 141 ‒ 142). Gurnam Singh (2001: 19) mentions nine chaunkis
at Harimandir Sahib.
509
In total Asa di Var contains fifty-nine verses, out of which Guru Angad has composed fifteen
and the remaining part is by Guru Nanak. Asa di Var is included on page 462 ‒ 475 in Guru
Granth Sahib.
510
According one legend in ancient times As was the son of King Sarang. The step-mother of As,
who was the second wife of the King Sarang, fell in love with As and accused him of incest
when she was refused by him. To punish As the King ordered his execution, but a minister
decided to cut off one of his hands and leave him in the jungle. A group of traders found As and
sold him to a washer man as a slave. When King Sarang died without an heir the minister decided
to make the first one who passed through the city gates the following morning successor
of the throne. As was the first person to enter and consequently he ascended the throne under
the name “the cripple King As” (Tunda Asraja).
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008