Bhaini Sahib: A village built on sur and taal

Bharatbala’s film ‘Shabad Aag Ki Khushboo’ portrays how classical music is a way of life for the people of Bhaini Sahib, Ludhiana

November 21, 2019 02:04 pm | Updated 04:05 pm IST

A still from the film ‘Shabad Aag ki Khushboo’

A still from the film ‘Shabad Aag ki Khushboo’

The film begins with a dramatic top angle shot of girls in pristine white salwar kameez, dupatta over their heads, walking to the music class on a picturesque terrace of a quaint building. This is followed by a brilliant slow motion shot of a girl walking down a slope with the sitar in hand. She sits on the steps of a pond and plays the soulful Ik Onkar (one Supreme reality), the opening words of the Guru Granth Sahib (holy book of Sikhism). The water seems to gently sway to the melody of her strings. “When I play the sitar or sing, I experience a silence within me. And when I close my eyes, the classical notes transport me to another world,” says 17-year-old Ratna Malviya of Bhaini Sahib in Ludhiana.

The film, titled Shabad Aag Ki Khushboo, takes you on a tour of Bhaini Sahib, with every frame as lyrical as the Gurbani (hymns). Created by renowned filmmaker Bharatbala, it is part of his massive ‘Virtual Bharat - the 1000-film journey,’ project that captures on camera the finer nuances of our rich culture and heritage.

What sets apart Bhaini Sahib, surrounded by mustard fields and home to Namdhari Sikhs, is that classical music is a way of life here. Kirtans and raags rent the air. Children in this town, along with going to school and enjoying games and gadgets, never miss attending the music class.

Seventeen-year-old Ratna Malviya is proficient in sitar

Seventeen-year-old Ratna Malviya is proficient in sitar

“I have been collecting a lot of unusual and intriguing stories from around the country, and this is one of them. Both personally and as a filmmaker, it was fascinating to see these youngsters passionately learning classical music that is intrinsically linked to devotion. Though I looked at the experience from a cinematic angle, the attempt was to make this film timeless. Shabad Aag Ki Khushboo is not just for Punjabis, it is more for the non-Punjabis. I want the world to know how the people of Bhaini connect through the language of music,” says Bharatbala.

The film’s appeal lies in its brilliant cinematography, simple storytelling and Shreya Ghoshal’s moving rendition of Ek Onkar . “The purpose of the ‘1000-film journey’ is to showcase the real stars of India. And I make it a point to let them talk to the viewers and do not bring in my views,” adds Bharatbala.

Filmmaker Bhartbala

Filmmaker Bhartbala

For the residents of Bhaini Sahib, the day begins and ends with music. Assa di vaar or the early morning prayer is sung to the accompaniment of the dilruba, taar shehnai and rabab.

Says Harjinder Singh, who, along with his wife Simrat Pal Kaur, teaches vocal and instrumental music at a school and his home, “Most of the children attend the morning prayer session. Once back from school, they are again at the Kala Kendra for the evening music class that sometimes goes on till 10 p.m. During exams, we tell them to come only for the evening class.”

The Namdharis owe it to Satguru Jagjit Singh, the late head of the sect and an accomplished musician, for making them realise the power of music. Many of them are well-known concert performers. Sukhvinder Singh Pinky, a dynamic percussionist, who trained under Pt. Kishan Maharaj in Benaras, has been travelling across India, Europe and the U.S. performing with leading artistes. In 1994, he won a Grammy for his collaborative work, ‘A Meeting by the River’ with Ry Cooder and Pt. Vishwa Mohan Bhatt.

Harjinder Singh, a well-known performer and teacher, who conducts classes with his wife Simrat Pal Kaur in vocal and instrumental music

Harjinder Singh, a well-known performer and teacher, who conducts classes with his wife Simrat Pal Kaur in vocal and instrumental music

“Besides teaching music free of cost along with meals from the community kitchen, a system still followed, the Satguru ensured the talented were trained under maestros such as Ustad Vilayat Khan, Ustad Alla Rakha, Kishan Maharaj, Shambhu Maharaj, Ustad Bismillah Khan and Ustad Amjad Ali Khan. He would say even if you become a doctor or an engineer, you should experience the fragrance of music. One of my students, Gurpreet, has joined the Police, but is equally adept in playing the sarangi. She feels that music has made her mentally strong to pursue her dreams. To not miss out on her riyaaz , she took the sarangi with her for the Police training,” says the proud Guru Harjinder, whose farmer-father migrated to India after the Partition.

The communal tensions in the aftermath of the Partition severely impacted the art. Since many of the artistes belonging to the gharanas in the region were Muslims, they moved to Pakistan. Hindustani music’s repertoire is not bound by the boundary of religion, but the geographical and emotional divide hampered the creativity of musicians from both sides.

Harjinder Singh with his students during the film’s shoot

Harjinder Singh with his students during the film’s shoot

As the rest of Punjab took to new and racy forms of music, in Bhaini Sahib Satguru Jagjit Singh launched a movement to revive the classical music legacy. His committed disciples joined him in the cause of popularising dying musical instruments such as the taar shehnai (sounds like shehnai with frets like the sitar) dilruba, sarangi, rabab and saranda.

Though both boys and girls are initiated into music at an early age, Shabad Aag Ki Khushboo focusses on girl children. “When you teach a girl, you are not teaching an individual but several generations. We see them as carriers of our culture,” explains Harjinder. His daughter Hardev Kaur is being trained in vocal music and to play the dilruba.

Sitar exponent Ustad Harbhajan Singh

Sitar exponent Ustad Harbhajan Singh

Ustad Harbhajan Singh, a sitar exponent and a disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, misses the presence and guidance of the Satguru, but is delighted that the musical tradition he established in Bhaini Sahib continues to thrive. Based in the U.K, where he conducts vocal classes, Harbhajan Singh makes it a point to visit his native town to teach and interact with the youngsters.

“The Satguru’s dedication to propagate classical music was not limited to the Namdharis. He once heard the renowned Rajan-Sajan Mishra, who were then budding vocalists. When he came to know Rajan was working in a textile company on a salary of Rs. 400-a-month, he not only told him to quit, but supported him financially so that the brothers could focus on their music,” says Harjinder.

Classical music holds a significant place in Sikhism. The verses of the Guru Granth Sahib are set to 31 main raags, starting with Sri and ending with Jaijawanti. It is said that Guru Nanakji would tell Bhai Mardana, the great rabab player who always accompanied him, to play a raag and then He would recite the shabd.

“Dhrupad and dhamar singing are also part of our spiritual tradition. Since percussion instruments are played along with the string instruments during the rendition of hymns and classical compositions, Satguru Jagjit Singh came up with innovative rhythmic calculations like paune aath (seven and three-fourths), paune pandhran (fourteen and three-fourths), sava chaudhan (fourteen and one fourth), saade staran (seventeen and a half) and teran sahi satt bata aath (thirteen and seven-eights),” informs Harbhajan Singh.

The film ends with the girls singing in unison ‘Sawaan aaya hey sakhi’ in raag Megh with joyous smiles on their faces.

As the evening sky turns blue-grey and musical notes waft in the cool breeze, you realise Bhaini Sahib is a village built on sur, taal and laya.

 

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.