Shivpreet Singh

The melodic composition for the current popular version of Jo Mange comes from Bhai Surjan Singh:

The emphasis of this rendition is obviously on 'Soi Soi Devai,' which is not the rahao tuk. The reason why this is such a powerful line, despite not being the rahao tuk, is because it shows an unsurpassed conviction in 'thakur.' The singer and the listener says, and believes, "Whatever is asked from the lord, he gives it." Optimism abounds, 'chardi kala' lives. I think it works marvelously.

Cute Kid Sings:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g5tM7C1jIng

Perhaps it works is because the rahao tuk has a similar tone to it. 'har jan rakhe gur gobind' - "the lord saves his people."

Several have followed Bhai Surjan Singh. Each has their own stylism.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDco9HTPpE8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYqVYNyhGVg

Raag Pahadi

I have a feeling that Raag Pahadi was very popular in the mid 20th century, and Bhai Surjan Singh was inspired by some of the prevalent compositions when he composed the current tune.

Was sung by Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib, the master of the Patiala Gharana. His favourite bhajan was "Hari om tat sat".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vB5sYNmzrb4

About this recording

http://www.chembur.com/anecdotes/badegulam.htm

Pahadi by Munawar Ali Khan singing Hari Om Tatsat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7YP_6Gqiz4

Pahadi by Shiv Kumar Sharma on Santoor.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83K7FZD9qgM

In Raag Dhanasri

Bhai Randhir Singh sings this shabad in dhanasri, one of the only recordings I found of this shabad in Dhanasri. However, the emphasis is still on 'Soi Soi Devai,' not on 'Har jan Rakhe.'
http://keertan.gurmatchanan.com/keertan/Gurmat%20Keertan%20-%20Classical%20Raag/Bhai%20Randhir%20Singh%20%28Hazoori%20Raagi%20Darbar%20Sahib%2CAmritsar%29/2005-02-15%20%28Bhai%20Randhir%20Singh%20Hazoori%20Ragi%29/Jo%20mange%20thakur%20apne%20te-%20Bhai%20Randhir%20Singh.mp3

I have made a composition in Raag dhanasri using "har jan rakhe" as the refrain, and have been singing both these versions.

If you are the purist and believe the shabad should can have a deep effect only if it is sung in dhanasri, and if the rahao tuk is emphasized. Apparently, this shabad has probably touched more Sikhs in the way it was sung more than perhaps any other shabad. I continue to marvel at what it takes for music to go deep within.

In a kirtan program organized last month to remember Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru, I was asked to sing this shabad. I have been singing the first few lines of the Sukhmani Sahib by Guru Arjan Dev, the fifth guru, since the early 90s.

It has been over 300 years since Mughal Emperor Jahangir ordered that Guru Arjan Dev be killed by extreme torture. The guru was made to sit on a metal plate and hot sheet while boiling hot sand was poured over his burnt body. After enduring five days of unrelenting torture, the Guru left for heavenly abode. Recitation the following first few lines of his masterpiece Sukhmani, written between the years 1601 and 1604AD, therefore has a special meaning to me:

ਅਸਟਪਦੀ ॥

असटपदी ॥

Asatpaḏī.

Ashtapadee:

ਸਿਮਰਉ ਸਿਮਰਿ ਸਿਮਰਿ ਸੁਖੁ ਪਾਵਉ ॥

सिमरउ सिमरि सिमरि सुखु पावउ ॥

Simra▫o simar simar sukẖ pāva▫o.

Meditate, meditate, meditate in remembrance of Him, and find peace.

ਕਲਿ ਕਲੇਸ ਤਨ ਮਾਹਿ ਮਿਟਾਵਉ ॥

कलि कलेस तन माहि मिटावउ ॥

Kal kales ṯan māhi mitāva▫o.

Worry and anguish shall be dispelled from your body.

ਸਿਮਰਉ ਜਾਸੁ ਬਿਸੁੰਭਰ ਏਕੈ ॥

सिमरउ जासु बिसु्मभर एकै ॥

Simra▫o jās bisumbẖar ekai.

Remember in praise the One who pervades the whole Universe.

ਨਾਮੁ ਜਪਤ ਅਗਨਤ ਅਨੇਕੈ ॥

नामु जपत अगनत अनेकै ॥

Nām japaṯ agnaṯ anekai.

His Name is chanted by countless people, in so many ways.

ਬੇਦ ਪੁਰਾਨ ਸਿੰਮ੍ਰਿਤਿ ਸੁਧਾਖ੍ਯ੍ਯਰ ॥

बेद पुरान सिम्रिति सुधाख्यर ॥

Beḏ purān simriṯ suḏẖākẖ▫yar.

The Vedas, the Puraanas and the Simritees, the purest of utterances,

ਕੀਨੇ ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ ਇਕ ਆਖ੍ਯ੍ਯਰ ॥

कीने राम नाम इक आख्यर ॥

Kīne rām nām ik ākẖ▫yar.

were created from the One Word of the Name of the Lord.

ਕਿਨਕਾ ਏਕ ਜਿਸੁ ਜੀਅ ਬਸਾਵੈ ॥

किनका एक जिसु जीअ बसावै ॥

Kinkā ek jis jī▫a basāvai.

That one, in whose soul the One Lord dwells -

ਤਾ ਕੀ ਮਹਿਮਾ ਗਨੀ ਨ ਆਵੈ ॥

ता की महिमा गनी न आवै ॥

Ŧā kī mahimā ganī na āvai.

the praises of his glory cannot be recounted.

ਕਾਂਖੀ ਏਕੈ ਦਰਸ ਤੁਹਾਰੋ ॥

कांखी एकै दरस तुहारो ॥

Kāŉkẖī ekai ḏaras ṯuhāro.

Those who yearn only for the blessing of Your Darshan -

ਨਾਨਕ ਉਨ ਸੰਗਿ ਮੋਹਿ ਉਧਾਰੋ ॥੧॥

नानक उन संगि मोहि उधारो ॥१॥

Nānak un sang mohi uḏẖāro. ||1||

Nanak: save me along with them! ||1||

The first ingredient that goes in any arrangement is the meaning. Perhaps due to several practices of singing these lines, or due to the influence of other shabads and experiences, over the years, I have slightly adopted to different arrangements of this shabad to better explain what I understand from this shabad.

I generally look for focal words in any shabad, and have found that arrangements focusing on the right focal words can help bring out the meaning of any shabad. Focal words when used effectively, can help create a singular atmosphere that can then be easily remembered with the help of raags, even while one is busy doing daily chores.

There are two key focal words in this shabad: Simro and Ekai.

With the focus on the rhyming, and the presence of 'Simro' at the beginning of the shabad, there is no doubt that that is a focal word; the earliest of my arrangements try to bring that out. However, more recently, I use a slightly diverging meaning of 'Simro' than what I have read in most translations of the Sukhmani. Now, more than ever, 'Simro,' means 'I do Simran,' and not necessarily 'Do Simran.'

To me there is no good English substitute for Simran (say Sim-Run). 'Meditation', 'remembering' and 'contemplation' are often used to describe Simran. To me, true Simran is a 'constant remembrance' of the Truth at all times. Several meditative techniques can be used to help in doing Simran; music can be used, recitation can be used, repitition of certain words can be used, kirtan can certainly be used.

The second focal word in the shabad is Ekai. This one was tougher for me to find because it did not appear conveniently in the beginning of the shabad. However, interestingly, Ekai finds itself, in some shape or form, in all lines following the first line. Also interestingly, I find that Ekai has two meanings in each line. The most obvious meaning of Ekai is as an adjective, 'One' describing Bisambhar, Akhar, Fragment, and Vision.

Ekai rhymes with 'Nameh,' the focal word in God's salutation at the begining of Sukhmani, the lines that precede this shabad. So, I believe Ekai is a key focal word in the shabad. It comes to me as no surprise that, in one of his key poetic work that took 3 years to complete, Guru Arjan Dev focuses on Ekai, very similar to the opening message of the first guru, Guru Nanak, 'Ek Omkar'!

I have narrowed down to the following meaning of this shabad:

With 'Simran', sorrows go away, and bliss is attained;
'Simran' of The ONE who is extoled by countless;
The ONE, who is the synopsis of extensive holy scriptures;
Whose ONE fragment in anyone's heart can elevate them beyond limits;
With Them, Who seek ONE glimpse of the Truth, Oh God, liberate me!

Simro Simar in Bangla Sahib:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQfx3lOgfCc Set in raag Gauri, which symbolizes the purity embodied by Shiv's wife Parvati, Sukhmani is meant to be recited in the afternoon.

Jogsuhi
Sa Ga ma Pa ni Sa., Sa. ni Dha Pa ma Ga Re Sa.
Thaat: Khamaj
Timing: 3-6PM, Anytime in the summer
Vaadi: Ga
Samvaadi: Ma
Pakad: .Pa .ni Sa Ga ma Ga, Ga ma Pa Dha ma Ga

The popular version of khamaj maintains the tension of the dominant by including a sharp 7th note (Ni shudha), and has the heavenly peaceful Ga as one of the key notes. However, if one goes to the pure mixolydian mode, the tension of the Ni shudha is removed by introducing a Ni komal that relaxes into the Sa. At the same time, you retain the effect of peace through Ga. What I have added to this is a frequent slide between ma and Ga to depict purity which is emblematic of Raag Gauri. This element reminds us of Parvati, the wife of Shiva, whose name (Gauri) and deeds (Sati) symbolize the utmost purity.

No wonder, when an atmosphere of purity, peace and relaxation is desired composers opt for this raag. According to The school of musical composition, by Adolf Bernhard Marx, the mode conveys "a desire for the infinite and exalted" because of the missing resolution of a major dominant.

Ghulam Ali sings Jogsuhi (says its "based on" Kalavati): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvP_NnEnCgk

If we look at some of the Allah hoo by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg8mZqY5uzg

One of the evergreen songs from Hindi films sung by Lata Mangeshkar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vPLxucFm7o

Beatles created this effect masterfully in at least four of their hit songs: Norwegian Wood, She said she said, Taxman, and Tomorrow Never Knows.

This raag is similar but different from kalavati, khamaj, lankeshree, khambavati, Janasamohini.

Here's a nice kalavati rendition by Ustad Amanat Ali Khan and Noor Jahan. Notice the absence of Re and Ma, as kalavati should be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Z5VyB-3X4U

Not khamaj
http://www.sawf.org/audio/khamaj/lata_vaishnava.ram

Not lankeshree

Not khambavati -- which sounds like a mix of asa in aaroh and khamaj avroh.
Khambavati: Gur Charni Chit Laiyeh (Baba Ghulam Muhammad Chand)

Not Janasamohini

Mary Kathryn uses this scale a lot.
http://www.ilike.com/artist/Mary-Kathryn

Only One:
when sun is on the rise
and moon is on the low
chasing stars of night
till there is only one

only one, one

when god created man
He knew there'd be a sun (or Son!)
salvation was His plan
to make us all as one

only one, one

[Updated 2020]

Some of the links to the shabads in this article were not working. If you know of these shabads, especially Dheeron Dekh Tumhare Rangaa please send me an email. In lieu of this missing recordings I am adding the following playlist to this post which has over 30 shabads from Bhai Samund Singh:

[from 2008]

Last week, a friend told me that there was a classical kirtaniya from Delhi visiting the bay area, and that he will be singing at the San Jose Gurudwara. I had not heard of him ... Bhai Nitendar Singh. Bhai sahib had some time in the east coast earlier this year and lately he had been singing at the San Jose Gurudwara. Although I couldn't go to the Gurudwara that day, I was somewhat excited because my friend told me he could get a recording of the kirtan.

I have always felt that Kirtan programs are like box of chocolates -- you get a lot of treats, but sometimes you are blown away by a surprise. So, being ever hopeful, I pestered my friend to send me the audio recording of the performance. I got it earlier today. And I was blown away by one of the shabads.

There were five shabads in the recording sent to me. The first one was an asavari shabad in sulfakta. It was a nice composition and I would probably go back to it after I had finished listening to the rest of the program. However, that was not to be.

I started playing the second shabad. It was 'Dheerao Dekh Tumhare Rangaa.' Bhai Nitendar claimed that this could possibly be a Samund Singh composition.

Dheero Dekh Tumare Ranga in Bilawal set to Ek Taal

I heard this reet, and I could not stop listening to it.

This is beautiful as bilawal gets. All the elements of the raag are present -- the Ga Ma Re Sa, the Re Ga Ma Pa, the Dha Ni Sa Dha Pa. Still this is not stale at all, it is as fresh as when it was perhaps first sung -- in the middle of the last century. And as someone who has been setting new compositions to fit the rules of a traditional raag, creating a fresh composition that adheres to the quality of the raag is exceptionally difficult. On top of the freshness, the composition has an amazing use of the poetry -- the weight of the composition lies squarely on the rhyming elements. This masterpiece is the work of a master.

I must've heard it 4 or 5 times when my phone rang. It was Friday night and everyone in the family wanted to go out have Pizza. I had opted out of the shopping activities for the evening, but dinner was on.

I dragged myself out and went to a new Pizza place in San Ramon. We must have spent around 2 hours at this Pizza/sports bar, and the pizza was very good. A strong base, colorful toppings, and savory ... just like a finely buttered bilawal reet. Freshness abound! The shabad did not stop playing in my head. I couldn't wait to come back and hit the play button to listen to it several times again.

One possible critique for this composition is the addition of "Mai Vaari" to the rahao line. "Mai Vaari" does not occur in the shabad. Perhaps this was an attempt on the composers part to highlight the first-person appeal of the shabad, which is often misinterpreted. For the purists, who want to adhere to gurbani 'as is', there is an easy way to fix that -- just dont sing the "Mai Vaari" and elongate "Dheero."

This is not the first time I was bowled over by Bhai Samund Singh's Bilawal. This is the second. One of his compostions for Tere Gun Gavaan had gripped me similarly a few years ago. That was my introduction to Bhai Samund Singh. He sang this shabad in a second bilawal reet as well: Tere Gun Gavan; and even that is not the popular bilawal teen taal that is heard across gurudwaras in the world today. Bhai Samund Singh had a liking for freshness, and a liking for Bilawal. I am more confident than by Bhai Nitendar Singh, that the masterful composition came from Bhai Samund Singh.

Alaaps and sargams, which are more dependent on the performer and not the composer, were nearly not as exceptional as the composition. So I really want to listen to this shabad being sung by Bhai Samund Singh, who, like his other recordings, will likely have poured hours of love into it. I looked but I couldn't find any recordings of Bhai Samund Singh singing this shabad. I will keep my search going and if I can't find it, I might spend a couple years honing it myself. Unless I can find a rendition by Bhai Samund Singh, this shabad is a leading contender for my favorite recordings of 2008 which I plan to publish in January 2009.

PS:
The other shabads from that morning:

Har ka Bilohna Biloh in Asavari, Sulfakta

Rasna Japti Tuhi Tuhi in Shudha Sarang in Teen Taal

Man Charnarbind Upaas (?) in Gujri in Roopak.

Raajan Kai Raaja in Gunkali set in Ek Taal

This memorial day weekend I was invited to judge a kirtan competition for the Hemkunt Foundation. This is their second year this competition was conducted and that I was judging young kirtaniyas. The organizers had selected an interesting set of raags for the competition: Sarang, Suhi and Sorath. Sarang, especially Vrindavani Sarang, is not a rarity among current kirtaniyas. However, despite their simplicity and beauty, Suhi and Sorath are forgotten raags, Suhi even more than Sorath. So I decided to do some research on existing Suhi compositions.

Because the majority of existing Suhi renditions are very similar to Alhaiya Bilawal, my research also included media in that raag. The following playlist includes Suhi and Alhaiya Bilawal compositions that I collected before the competition.

If you listen to these compositions, it is clear that there are two distinct forms of Suhi sung by recent and contemporary kirtaniyas. Although both seem to originate from bilawal, the most prevalent of the two stresses the vaadi note 'Pa.' Gyani Dyal Singh and his disciple Bhai Kanwarpal Singh, stress 'Ma' as the vaadi and the effect is just not the same. Next time I see Bhai Kanwarpal Singh I will ask him about the reason for the difference; however, at this point my conclusion from the collective set of media data is that 'Pa' should be the vaadi for Suhi.

In fact, in most compositions the use of "Ga Ma Pa Ni(Komal) Dha Pa," following a rest on vaadi 'Pa' is distinct to Suhi in gurmat sangeet. This is also a distinction of Alhaiya Bilawal making these raags very similar in their feel. "Sa Re Ga Ma, Re Ga Ma Pa" with a slide from Ma to Re reminds one of Bilawal, creating a minor differentiation between Alhaiya Bilawal and Suhi.

For classical Kirtan enthusiasts I highly encourage listening to Kishori Amonkar's rendition of Alhaiya Bilawal on youtube. In Chotti Teen taal (which also appears prominently among Suhi renditions), she uses only 6 notes to define the raag in her bandish. Simplicity of the composition and clarity of meends create an extraordinary atmosphere of tranquility. Just like a masterful Suhi, which is often sung in the hot season, this rendition has a cooling influence on the mind.

Considerations in composition:

Research on Current Compositions (2008)

SHIVPREET SINGH

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