INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

discussions in the congregation and will influence future invitations of an individual
performer.
The structure of katha performances may be exposed to substantial variations,
considering that kathakars are not manuscript preachers who read prepared notes but
give oratory from memory and deliver individual interpretations adjusted to a particular
situation and interaction with an audience. Some will downplay preparations
before performances and instead allege that their ability to manifest eloquences and
cohesive discourses on stage are spontaneous acts out of devotion graced by God.
When the renowned kathakar Giani Sant Singh Maskin commented on this matter on
his visit to Varanasi he said “the things you put in a pot will come out of the pot,”
and explained that karma from previous lives in combination with extensive studies
and regular meditation on God are life-long preparations for those who will teach
religion. 537 Although the content of katha performances allow for variations and is the
means by which the individual expounder may display knowledge and oratory skill,
the formal structure of performances is likely to follow a fairly standardized pattern.
Seated beside the throne of Guru Granth Sahib the kathakar starts the performance by
a melodious utterance of the mulmantra and then recites the dandaut, or his personally
chosen line or verse from the Guru Granth Sahib which will work as an invocation to
God and settle his mind on gurbani. After that he will exclaim the Khalsa ovation to
greet the congregation in line with the stipulated practice. Just like the prelude he will
close the program by repeating Khalsa salutation in chorus with the audience. Altogether
these speech acts set the external frame for an oral exposition.
The way an individual performer will start the actual katha depends on which
type of discourse he is about to deliver and the narrative methods he prefers to use.
Considering that performers are usually given a limited amount of time for their
presentation ‒ between fifteen to sixty minutes ‒ the discourse will not be a systematic
analysis of the teaching in Guru Granth Sahib but an elaborate improvisation on
smaller sections. 538 The kathakar may choose to structure the discourse on a chosen
single verse, a key word in a line, or bring up a central theme or topic for comment
and philosophical expansions. Sometimes the congregation may ask the performer to
speak on a particular subject. A common method among the kathakars I met and interviewed
was to build the whole katha around the daily Hukam in the public gurdwara.
An elderly kathakar working in Varanasi district said: “Before going to a katha I
look at the blackboard in the gurdwara, which hymn is the Hukam of the day. Then I
think about that hymn and do katha on it. I try to prove that what the hymn is saying
is true.” The performer will first paraphrase the verse in a melodious and rhythmic
manner and then explicate doctrinal and spiritual meanings of a significant word or
theme in the hymn, sometimes by comparing the word or theme to its uses in other
537
In this context Giani Sant Singh Maskin also said he used to meditate between 5 and 7.30
every morning.
538
Giani Sant Singh Maskin had developed a practice of expounding one subject for a period of a
week or fifteen days in order to fully develop his interpretations of gurbani.
307
Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008