Editors picks...
I came across these videos and when I saw them it just made me happy. I have longed for the divan where the musicians as well as the sangat are in such good spirits that everyone is smiling. Many times we are smiling on the inside and an outside observer wouldn't be able to tell how much bliss the sangat is in. Yet there is something about the unembarrassed expression of happiness which don't tend to see in divan perhaps because people want to put on an air of reverence. The spirit of playfulness that in written in SGGS ji is, in my perspective, sometimes replaced with an overly serious bravado.
ਚੋਜੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਗੋਵਿੰਦਾ ਚੋਜੀ ਮੇਰੇ ਪਿਆਰਿਆ ਹਰਿ ਪ੍ਰਭੁ ਮੇਰਾ ਚੋਜੀ ਜੀਉ ॥
Playful is my Lord of the Universe; playful is my Beloved. My Lord God is wondrous and playful. (Ang174)
In this video the love for music is palpable. The obviously cozy setting in which several professional singers are in attendance lends itself to improvisations. The main musicians carry the compositions and as the mood moved them other vocal masters chimed in with open form singing (alaap). The lovers of music volley off each other as if playing a friendly game. The subtlety of skill can only be fully perceived by a fellow student of this art.
The audience in this session often burst out with "Aha!" "Kiaa baat!" whenever they are impressed. The sense is that this session is more participatory than a typical Gurdwara performance. This is not a spectator sport!
I long for the day where I can go into a Gurdwara and experience something like this! It soothes and lightens the heart.
As the saying goes, "God loves us when we sing."
Especially watch for the following times :)
0:40, 2:20, 4:00, 4:37, 5:25, 6:07, 7:11, 7:56, 8:36, 9:17, 10:10, 11:17
That's pretty much the whole video, just watch it all if you can.
In the following video we are not in a private setting, actually an open darbar. The well known and respected Bhai Balbir Singh is singing a Shabd of Guru Gobind Singh. His excitement bursts out as he explains and sings. He sometimes turns away from the microphone and sings to the tabla player or fellow singers. It is clear from watching him that his harmonium (vaajaa) is a secondary tool (sometimes abandoning it altogether) while the importance is put on the words themselves. When he is singing it is as if the extemporaneous interjections are more common than the normal composition itself. The majority of this video is him repeating 4 words of the Shabd, yet like saying "I love you," it does not become ritual. Quite the opposite, the more he says these words the more glow can be seen from his eyes and the more excited he gets. One does not feel they are hearing the same thing simply being repeated again. A minute and a half before the finish of the video he gives a brief talk and there is no inkling of pretentiousness. When he says 'Fateh' in the end it is also not ritual, like everything else that he sang and said, he is excitedly engaging the sangat.
1:03, 1:56, 4:30, 5:05, 5:20, 6:05, 8:45, 10:05
I hope you enjoyed these videos as I did.
