Heart and Soul: Sikhism’s lost song

The Documentary Podcast

BBC

Society & Culture, Documentary, Personal Journals

4.3 • 2.6K Ratings

🗓️ 14 April 2023

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In the heyday of the Sikh Empire, Kirtan (Sikh hymns) were performed using stringed instruments such as the sarangi, rabab and taus. The rich, complex tones these instruments create are said to evoke a deeper connection to Waheguru (God). But in the late 19th Century, these traditional instruments were replaced by European imports like the harmonium. Now a new generation of diaspora Sikhs is painstakingly rebuilding that musical heritage - restoring scores and meeting up to teach and learn traditional instruments. Monika Plaha meets one these musical pioneers, Harjinder Singh Lallie, and finds out how his beliefs fuel his work and how his music shapes his faith.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the documentary from the BBC World Service. I'm Monica Plaha and in this episode
0:10.4	of Heart and Soul which explores personal approaches to spirituality from around the
0:15.1	world. I'm meeting the Sikh musician Harajinda Singh Lali.
0:22.1	I want to see females singing up the Darbar Sahib and if my daughter was one of those
0:29.2	females that would be my life's work completed. That would be the absolute best thing that's
0:36.8	ever happened in my life.
0:39.9	Harajinda is sitting cross-legged under a picture of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism.
0:45.8	Harajinda is Sikh, he has a beard and has a precisely wrapped black turban. His eyes light
0:51.6	up when he talks about his daughter Nanakhi.
0:55.8	I want to tell the world the story of our music. I want the world to know what Sikh music is.
1:04.6	In a quiet UK suburb there's a musical revolution taking place. Harajinda and his students are
1:10.6	part of a global movement to decolonize sacred Sikh music.
1:17.4	They're reviving the string instruments of the Guru Ji's era. Although the instruments
1:21.8	have been a part of Sikhs for hundreds of years you may be haven't heard them in a good
1:26.6	water which is a Sikh temple.
1:30.5	I'm in Birmingham in the English Midlands. It's the city where I was born and it's also
1:35.6	the location for Harajinda School, the Gharamad-Sanghi music academy. I'm on a journey of discovery.
1:42.7	To learn about these instruments and meet some of the people who are fighting to restore
1:47.6	its place in Sikh music.
1:54.4	Hi! How are you? So nice to see you.
1:58.4	I'm good to see you.
2:01.6	I'll do my best.
	...

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