Towards HIM: His Masters Voice

ਕਲਜੁਗ ਮਹਿ ਕੀਰਤਨੁ ਪਰਧਾਨਾ ॥ kalajug mehi keerathan paradhhaanaa

|| In this Dark Age of Kali Yuga, the Kirtan of the Lord’s Praises are most sublime and exalted.

Professor Kartar Singh Ji.

Professor Kartar Singh ji is an illustrious name in Gurmat Sangeet. Despite his early grounding from traditional ragis, he developed a passion for classical Indian music. This helped him to evolve a distinct style of singing with traditional string instruments, especially the tanpura, and rendering shabads purely in the ragas prescribed by the Gurus. Humble and reticent to a fault, but principled to the core, Kartar Singh avoided crass commercialism despite being solely dependent on the kirtan for subsistence during his days of struggle.
Recently, when the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) decided to revive the rendering of kirtan with traditional string instruments at Harmandar Sahib, he was asked to initiate the new campaign — an honour this veteren hymn singer relished by mesmerising the sangat, as well a huge TV audience, with his mellifluous voice and vast repertoire.
Now, in his seventies, he continues to impart finer nuances of Gurbani sangeet to his numerous students.

And I feel proud to be his grandson. This post is my tribute to his great voice.

His Voice From the Events...

Seminar on Musical Tradition Of Gurbani

November 16, 2007
New Delhi

Prof. Kartar Singh ji with his students. Prof. Piara Singh ji playing the dilruba. The names of the students are Jaspinder Singh (with Tanpura), Sandeep Singh (Tabla), Sukhjeet Singh, Harpreet Singh, Mohan Singh and Bhupinder Singh.

Gurbani Gaveh Bhai

A three day kirtan darbar , April 28-30, 2006, Talkatora Gardens , New Delhi.

Prof Kartar Singh ji and his students

The Sadh-Sangat.

Gurmat Sangeet Sammelan,
Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib,
New Delhi .

Gurudwara Rakabganj Sahib in all its magnificent opulence at night

Prof Kartar Singh Ji entering the sanctum sanatorium

In all His solace..

Renditions...

With fellow Ragis..

Voice From the News...

Kirtan in the Original Style
India
Posted Mar 09, 2006 - 03:36 PM

ritsar, Punjab, India - The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee SGPC revived the pre-Independence tradition of using traditional instruments in performing Kirtan (hymn singing) at Darbar Sahib.

A six-member Ragi Jatha, led by Professor Kartar Singh, Director of Sangeet Academy, Anandpur Sahib, took the opportunity Tuesday of reviving a tradition in tune with that exercised during the period of the ten Sikh Gurus.

In addition to the present-day Harmonium and Tabla, the Ragi Jatha used instruments such as the Tanpura, Taus, Surmandal and Dilruba in performing Kirtan. Thousands of devotees who had come to pay obeisance at the sanctum sanctorum of Darbar Sahib tried to extend their stay to attending the Kirtan. However, owing to paucity of space, majority of the devotees had to leave.

Amritsar residents also remained glued to their television sets to watch the Kirtan in traditional style on the local ETC Punjabi channel that directly telecasts the morning and evening Kirtan from Darbar Sahib.

As the Jatha came out after performing the evening Kirtan, several devotees gathered around them to learn more about the traditional musical instruments. Amongst the Sangat was SGPC President Avtar Singh. At the conclusion of the Kirtan, Singh expressed his commitment to revive the traditional style of Kirtan as he made it clear that no Ragi Jatha would be allowed to perform “filmi song tunes” for Kirtan. He added that best Ragi Jathas would be invited from within the country and abroad to continue the process of Kirtan with traditional musical instruments.

Kartar Singh said that his happiness was beyond measure given the fact that he had now fulfilled his long cherished dream of performing Kirtan at Darbar Sahib with traditional instruments. He said that as many as thirty students in the Anandpur Sahib academy were training themselves to perform Kirtan on traditional lines, and they would fill the vacuum of Ragi Jathas lacking traditional skills in using traditional musical accompaniment. "We used the Harmonium partially, and it wouldcease to be the part of Kirtan in due course of time," he added.

Tradition revived at Golden Temple

Friday, March 10, 2006

The Golden Temple ambience today resonated with Gurbani kirtan performed with ancient and traditional musical instruments for the first time after partition. The tradition of performing kirtan accompanied with tanpura, rabab, swarmandal was revived in the gurdwara.

Prof Kartar Singh, Director of the SGPC-run Sangeet Academy at Anandpur Sahib, performed kirtan with the traditional instruments, including two tanpuras, taus, swarmandal and harmonium. He sang four shabads of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh, including ‘Mitar piare nu’, and of Bhagat Kabir and Bhagat Ramanand in basant raag.

He said shabad kirtan and Gurbani had a classical base. However, he rued that we had lost the classical base and by using modern instruments which was against the Rehat Maryada. Due to this, the sangat did not attach with the shabads and Gurbani, he added. He praised the SGPC initiative of reviving the tradition.

Prof Kartar Singh will perform tomorrow also. Dr Gurnam Singh, Head of the Music Department, Punjabi University, Patiala, will also perform on March 7 and 8. Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa and Bhai Gurmit Singh Shant will perform kirtan on March 9-10 and March 16-17, respectively. Bhai Avtar Singh will perform on March 18.

Mr Avtar Singh, President of the SGPC, also enjoyed the kirtan. He said the committee would ensure that at least one raagi adept in traditional instruments was present during the kirtan in the sanctum santorum.

He said students were being trained at Punjabi University and the SGPC-run Sangeet Academy at Anandpur Sahib on traditional instruments.

Monday , July 04, 2005

A teacher committed to preserving gurmat sangeet

A teacher committed to preserving gurmat sangeet Seventy-six-year-old Kartar Singh has trained over 2,000 students in gurmat sangeet and penned four books.

Puneet Singh Gill

Ludhiana, July 3: HE has been serving as the director of Gurmat Sangeet Academy run by Dharam Parchar Committee of Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) at Anandpur Sahib since 1999 and has trained over 2,000 students in gurmat sangeet.

Seventy-six-year-old Kartar Singh, a resident of Shastri Nagar, is a music teacher with four books on Gurbani music to his credit

Born in Ghummanke village, Lahore district, Pakistan, Kartar Singh started learning gurmat sangeet in 1941 from Giani Gurcharan Singh. He learnt it for three years. Later, he took training from Dalip Singh Gayan Acharaya for a year.

Talking about his latest book Gurmat Sangeet Darpan - Part I, the veteran of gurmat sangeet said, ‘‘My latest book includes notations of 15 out of 31 main ragas included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Other writers have also compiled Gurbani ragas but each and every composition in this book has been added with tans and tihayiaaz. With each raga, three to four partals (a singing style) have also been included.

Writings of Guru Gobind Singh, Bhai Gurdas and 15 bhagats (included in Guru Granth Sahib) have been included in all the ragas along with their compositions.’’

‘‘Being a teacher of music, I know the best way a student can learn. So, I have given meanings with all the shabads included in the book and added vilambit khayal as well. I have also introduced compositions of sawai (1/4), paun (3/4) and dedh (1/2) matra tals, which no other classical music book has included.’’

He has also named some of the bandishs (singing style), included in this book along with the rags, like jot tal (7 1/2), roop tal (8 1/2), anand tal (7 3/4) and dev tal (10 1/4).

Singh is considered to be a master of tanpura, swarmandal and dilruba (musical instruments) and recites gurbani on these accompaniments. ‘‘I use these instruments which are considered to be the toughest ones while most use the harmonium which is comparatively easier to play.’’

Kartar Singh has written three books on gurmat sangeet titled Gurmat Sangeet Darpan, Gurbani Sangeet Darpan and Guru Angad Dev Sangeet Darpan.

Gurmat Sangeet Darpan by Prof Kartar Singh

Gurmat Sangeet Darpan
by Prof Kartar Singh
Dharam Prachar Committee, SGPC, Amritsar
Pages 423. Rs 90

This is the second book written by Kartar Singh on Gurmat sangeet. The volume, a product of 15 years of painstaking effort, is meant for the students of music. It is a guide to singing shabads in 15 of 31 ragas prescribed in Guru Granth Sahib.
There are musical notations for more than 300 shabads. Information regarding the origin and importance of each raga is also provided. In sum, an extremely productive work for both the initiated and amateurs.
The SGPC, too, deserves kudos for commissioning and backing up this superlative venture.

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