INSIDE THE GURU'S GATE - Anpere

The reason why local Sikhs prefer to use recorded audiocassettes in collective
nam simran programs can, on a general level, be found in the extensively popular
usage of recorded sound. 548 The broader Sikh community has been receptive to modern
technology. Cassettes and compact discs on devotional music (kirtan), exegetical
discourses (katha), and recitations of gurbani hymns are today mass-produced for a
growing market in India and abroad, although the impact of modern media on Sikh
worship and contextual variations are still to be examined. 549 In Varanasi, recorded
music and recitations by Sikh performers of regional and national fame are widely
used in homes for devotional or educational purposes. 550 Hindi-speaking Sikhs will
utilize audiocassettes when memorizing and training pronunciation of gurbani
hymns. These recordings have in no way replaced live performances in the gurdwaras,
but serve more as supplementary media. The nam simran program is the only
public event dependent on recorded sound, and this exception seems to be rooted in
beliefs related to appropriate spiritual guidance. Only individuals who are deemed
saintly and fully engaged in simran can lead common people in the disciplined practices.
Since no person in Varanasi lives up to these standards, recorded tapes provide
a means to receive instructions of saintly persons at other geographical locations.
Although the traditional performer – audience (or teacher – student) interaction is
absent, the playback of a tape allows overcoming limitations of physical distance
between a local congregation and a renowned saintly guide. That nam simran tapes
are recordings of live performances, rather than studio productions, emphasizes the
participatory aspect. Devotees gather at a place and form a group that joins in the
recorded performances as if they were participating in a congregation in the presence
of a devout instructor. These tapes framed and supplied the content of all Sunday
events I took part in. 551
548
A growing bulk of scholarly studies on modern media in India has paid attention to how the
production of audiocassettes has promoted standardizations of devotional performances, as
compared to oral live performances. At the same time it has contributed to a democratization of
religious practice, since cassettes can be consumed at a cheap rate and are convenient to lay
people (see Manuel 1993, Babb & Wadley 1997).
549
Mansukhani 1982 and Manuel 1993 mention the existence of modern Sikh media.
550
These recordings were either purchased on pilgrimage tours or family trips to Punjab and
Delhi, or procured by the local Sikh reseller of religious media, who always set up a small fair
booth with gutkas, bracelets (karah), ornaments, tapes and compact discs outside the gurdwara
on festival days.
551
The only exception occurred in March 2001 when a highly esteemed ragi from Ludhiana
visited Varanasi for a music program. At the request of the local congregation the performer
agreed to lead the regular nam simran program between 4.00 and 5.30 in the morning at Gurubagh
Gurdwara. To document the event I decided to video record the full program carried out in
semi-darkness. Afterwards some of the participants asked if they could copy the recording,
which I agreed to. To the inquiry about which purpose the tapes would be used I was told it was
for guidance of private simran practices. Since a regular physical interaction with the performer
was rendered impossible due to geographical distances families in Varanasi would do nam
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Published on www.anpere.net in May 2008