Kirtan and the Raag Tradition

From the beginning, Sikh worship has been sung. Guru Nanak Dev Ji travelled with Bhai Mardana, who played the rabab while the Guru sang the Bani revealed to him. Ever since, Kirtan — the singing of Gurbani in praise of the Divine — has been central to Sikh gatherings. In the Gurdwara, Kirtan usually fills most of the Diwan, and at Sri Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar it continues through the day. Kirtan is not entertainment or a performance to applaud; it is a way of meditating together. Listening attentively, understanding the words and letting them settle into the heart is as much part of Kirtan as singing.

Kirtan is usually led by a jatha of Raagis, often three musicians: one or two singing and playing harmonium, and one playing tabla. The harmonium arrived in India in the nineteenth century and quickly became popular. Before that, and increasingly again today, Kirtan used string instruments. According to Sikh tradition, the rabab was played by Bhai Mardana, the saranda is associated with Guru Arjan Dev Ji, and the taus, shaped like a peacock, with Guru Hargobind Sahib Ji. The jori, a paired drum, is traditionally linked with the Guru period too. Alongside the Raagis, the sangat often sings along with simpler shabads.

Sri Guru Granth Sahib Ji is not arranged by author or date but largely by music. Its main body is divided into 31 principal Raags, each a melodic framework with its own mood, season or time of day. Shabads are placed under the Raag in which they are to be sung, and many carry musical headings such as Ghar, which traditional explanations link to rhythm or musical form. Raags such as Sri, Asa, Gauri, Sorath and Ramkali give the Guru Granth Sahib its structure. Understanding the Raag of a shabad can deepen its meaning, since the music is intended to carry the feeling of the words.

Over time, much Kirtan drifted towards light tunes and away from the prescribed Raags and traditional instruments. From the later twentieth century, a growing movement often called the Gurmat Sangeet revival has worked to restore Raag-based Kirtan, the old string instruments and traditional compositions. Teachers, institutions and young musicians in India and abroad now teach rabab, taus and dilruba alongside harmonium. Views differ on how strictly Kirtan should follow classical Raag forms, and simple, heartfelt singing in the sangat remains valued. The shared goal is that the music serves the Bani, so that listeners are drawn to its meaning rather than to the performer.

Nitnem and Kirtan are related but different. Nitnem is the daily personal recitation of set Banis, usually read or recited rather than sung, and is a discipline for each Sikh. Kirtan is musical and most often done in the sangat, though many families enjoy Kirtan at home too. Some Banis, such as parts of Rehras Sahib and Sohila Sahib, are both read in Nitnem and sung as Kirtan. The Sikh Rehat Maryada says that only Gurbani, and the explanatory compositions of Bhai Gurdas and Bhai Nand Lal, are to be sung as Kirtan in the sangat.

Children usually begin by listening. Playing Kirtan at home, at bedtime or in the car makes shabads familiar long before a child reads Gurmukhi. Next, many Gurdwaras run Kirtan classes, often starting with harmonium or tabla from around primary-school age, with simple shabads such as short Mool Mantar or Waheguru simran melodies. Learning a few Raags and a string instrument can follow later. Encourage understanding as well as skill: talk about what the shabad means. Above all, keep it joyful. A child who loves singing Gurbani with the sangat has already understood what Kirtan is for.