INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

to understand. Because of the scripture’s authority many fear the risk of making incorrect
interpretations and believe that only those who are graced the divine gift of
knowledge will fully understand the spiritual meanings. To a large number of Sikhs
the popular means to explore the semantic inner of Guru Granth Sahib and other
hymns credited gurbani status will instead be through the listening of performances
of katha, the methodical “story-telling” or exposition of sacred texts delivered in the
Punjabi or Hindi language. In Punjabi the noun katha stands for a “story” that is told
in both secular and religious contexts, in the latter case translated into a “sermon”,
“religious discourse” or “oral exegesis”. 523 In Sikh worship the notion of katha has
come to signify oral exposition commenced within the contexts of devotional gatherings
in the gurdwara and which generally presumes the presence of a kathakar, or a
specialist “exegete”, who delivers an oral interpretation on gurbani and the Sikh history
to a listening audience.
In the daily run of a gurdwara katha is usually a separate item after the daily
morning liturgy. The performer will take a seat on a dais beside the scriptural throne
and tailor a discourse from a line or theme raised in the Guru Granth Sahib within a
prefixed limit of time. On festival days local and regional orators are invited to deliver
stories on Sikh ethics, history, and other topics appropriate for the occasion of
celebration. Occasionally the local community stages large-scale performances exclusively
for oral discourses (katha darbar) to give the congregation an opportunity to
hear a selection of renowned expounders for one or more days. In February 2001, for
instance, the Sikhs in Varanasi organized a three day long program with the late
“star” kathakar Giani Sant Singh Maskin who flew in from Rajasthan accompanied
with eight groups of Sikh musicians (ragi jatha) and two kathakar of national fame. 524
The venue for these expositions is always the sangat, or the holy congregation of
devotees, and the “stories” being told aims at unfolding moral and spiritual meanings
in the Gurus’ teaching that are not readily comprehensible to the audience.
DEVOTIONAL AND EDUCATIONAL DEVICES
The tradition of performing katha on sacred texts is an historical and pan-Indian phenomenon,
conceived both as a form of entertainment and an efficacious means for
religious worship and education, sometimes used for political propaganda. 525 To
523
Gill & Joshi 1999: 189.
524
After his death Giani Sant Singh Maskin was honored with the title Gurmat Vidya Martand,
literally “The Sun of Knowledge of the Guru’s teaching”, by the SGPC. The Tribune, 2005-03-04.
525
In a comprehensive ethnographic study of living katha performances of Ramcharitmanas in
Northern India, Lutgendorf (1991) analyzes the historical, social and economic contexts of katha
performers and performances and offers detailed descriptions of the narrative techniques used.
Lutgendorf traces the tradition of katha to Vedic times, stating that the milieu for oral exegesis
emerged already in the Brahmana literature and fully developed as a practice of religious
“story-telling” in Puranic times. For an anthology of different types of katha performances of the
Ramayana story in different regions, see K. S. Singh & Birendranath 1993. In Maharashtra and
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008