Rigvedic Chanting : K.M. Vasudevan Namboothiri and N.M. Narayan (Kerala)

22 April 2011, Friday
Rigvedic Chanting : K.M. Vasudevan Namboothiri and N.M. Narayan (Kerala)
Tukaram : Bhuvanesh Komkali (Dewas)
Gorakhnath : Dera Khan Manganiar ( Rajasthan)
Gurbani : Sarabjeet Singh Rangila Durgwale (Delhi)
Siva Bhajans : Ashwini Bhide Deshpandey ( Mumbai)
 
23 April 2011, Saturday
Vedic Chanting : Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya ( Varanasi)
 
24 April 2011, Sunday
 
 
Tukaram : Bhuvanesh Komkali (Dewas)
 
Gorakhnath : Dera Khan Manganiar ( Rajasthan)
Belonging to a 25-30,000-strong community of professional singers, or Manganiars, Durre Khan has spent a lifetime singing at the Nath Sampradaya Mutt in Miajalar, Jaisalmer. The Manganiars live across western Rajasthan, close to the Indo-Pak border, as well as Sindh in Pakistan. A primarily Muslim commune, patronized and mentored by Hindus, including the Rajputs, Maalis and Darzis, Manganiars have – for centuries – had inter-reliance with the latter. No ritual or rite, festival or fair, birth or death is complete without the Manganiars of a particular Hindu family singing for them. What sets Durre Khan apart from the others of his kin is the fact that he sings at the Nath Mutt. His repertoire includes the writings of Sufi saints, Mira, Kabir, pirs and aulias, and, of course, Guru Gorakhanath. Gorakhnath, who is believed to be a Nath Yogi going back to anything between the 8th-12th centuries with affiliations to Shaivism, was the ninth Nath in his tradition and said to be the greatest of them all. A number of works are ascribed to him, such as the first books on Laya Yoga, Goraksha Samhita, Goraksha Gita, and Siddha Siddhanta Paddhhati. Some modern-day masters proclaim Gorakhnath to be one of the four great innovators of the Indian religion alongside Patanjali, Buddha and Krishna. “Through him,” says Osho, “a new type of religion was born. Without Gorakh, there could be no Kabir, no Nanak, no Dadu, no Vajid, no Farid, and no Mira – without Gorakh none of these are possible.”
 
Gurbani : Sarabjeet Singh Rangila Durgwale (Delhi)
Gurbani – the word of the Guru – is kirti, or eulogy of the Creator. Kirti becomes kirtan when the singer harnesses music to sing the verses of the Guru Granth Sahib and other sacred writings. The Granth – the wellspring of Gurbani – is a compilation of verses taken from 36 masters, six of whom were Sikh. The rest came from various other traditions. Music was an important element in their expression of devotion. Promoting a new social order of equality, they set their verses to chosen ragas and rhythmic patterns. Born in August 1952, Raagi Sarabjeet Singh Rangila (Durgwale) received the teaching of the sacred kirtan from his father, Bhai Sukkha Singh Almast (Quetta, Balochistanwale). As a school boy in Bareilly, Bhai Sarabjeet Singh participated in gurbani, drama and dance contests at the annual function in the presence of the chief guest, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. So impressed was Panditji with the young boy’s multifarious talent that he said, “This is a boy of many colours (rang)… his name should be rangila.” And so, the name stuck for life! Bhai Sarabjeet Singh received further training from Prof Pratap Singh in Kashipur, Nainital district, and the latter’s guru Dilli Taan Samrat, Nasir Khan Sahib. He starts the evening with a shloka in Raag Kalyan, written by Guru Arjan Dev ji. This is followed by a shabad, also written by the fifth guru. The third composition is by Bhagat Ravi Das ji, one of 16 bhagats such as Kabir, Farid, Pipa and others, whose ‘bani’ is also enshrined in the Granth. The artiste concludes with the very popular ‘Sun sun jeevan teri baani…’, also by Guru Arjan Dev ji.
 
Siva Bhajans : Ashwini Bhide Deshpandey ( Mumbai)
 
Vedic Chanting : Panini Kanya Mahavidyalaya ( Varanasi)
 
Bandishes on Krishna : Aditi Kaikini Upadhya ( Bangalore)
 
Kabir : Shafi Mohammad Faqir (Pakistan)
 
Bhakti forms in Carnatic music : N. Vijay Siva (Chennai)
 
Hanuman Bhajans : Rajan-Sajan Mishra ( Delhi)
 
Samveda Chanting : Sreejith Namboothiri M.N, Bhavadas K.S. & Devadas K.S. (Kerala)
 
Songs of Women Seers : Subhadra Desai (Delhi)
 
Sagun and Nirgun in Manganiar tradtion : Padmaram Meghwal (Rajasthan)
 
Sufiana Qawwali : Sher Miandad and group ( Pakistan)