00:31.7
00:35.5
Passion is in abundance in the world
00:37.9
00:39.9
Someone is passionate for truth or God
00:40.1
00:42.0
Someone is passionate for devotion
00:42.1
00:45.0
Someone for their bodies or their profession
00:45.1
00:49.9
Its not of just one kind
00:51.1
00:54.5
First the it was God who felt the passion and love in abundance
00:54.6
00:57.4
Then with all that passion and love God created this world
00:57.5
01:00.6
To spread his passion and love in this Universe
03:03.9
03:07.3
There is a village near Nabha, a city in Punjab
03:07.9
03:11.2
That is where Hardayal Singh Thohi was born
03:11.3
03:12.2
He is still there
03:12.3
03:14.6
He loves all of us 'Dhadis' so much
03:14.7
03:19.5
He has written for all the 'Dhadis'
03:24.6
03:27.1
So many souls have ascended and left
03:27.2
03:30.4
Seems like almost all of them have
03:34.3
03:40.2
This is like my biography along with some photographs
03:44.1
03:48.9
Here's Desh Raj Lashkani, Sufi 'Dhadi' artist
03:49.3
03:52.2
Whoever recites the holy name
03:52.3
03:55.4
Whoever performs 'Kirtan' and sings about the divine
03:55.5
03:58.0
He is known as a 'Dhadi'
03:58.1
04:00.3
There are 'Singh Dhadis'
04:00.4
04:03.6
Who sing poetic chants for the gurus, about their history
04:03.7
04:04.4
Or even their attire
04:04.5
04:07.3
But majorly about their history and life events
04:07.4
04:11.9
They will always be dressed in a traditional attire
04:12.0
04:15.0
They won't cut their hair or beards
04:15.1
04:18.3
We are the kind of 'Dhadis' who aspire to live
04:18.4
04:20.5
With an open mind
04:20.6
04:24.9
We will chant the holy name, sing about their history
04:25.0
04:28.1
We will sing sufi poetry as well
04:28.2
04:33.9
So our community, which is open to all art forms was titles as the 'Sufi Dhadis'
04:38.0
04:42.8
In 1947, when we took our independence from the British
04:42.9
04:45.3
The whole population was scattering here and there
04:45.4
04:47.9
That's when I was born
04:49.8
04:53.8
So many of us were put into new situations
04:53.9
04:57.1
Some moved to the west, some stayed.
04:57.2
05:02.4
But to us the subedars and administrators of our village
05:02.5
05:07.9
Told us to live at our place fearlessly
05:08.0
05:14.5
They also asked us to hang a wooden stick outside our place
05:14.6
05:17.1
So that the visitors and traspassers know
05:17.2
05:20.8
That this house belongs to 'Meerzaadas'
05:20.9
05:23.3
They must be treated with utmost respect
05:25.1
05:31.1
Mardanas are also known as Merasis, meaning artists
05:31.2
05:36.5
That is the community we belong to
05:36.6
05:41.6
The prayer that Guru Nanak Dev Ji used to recite
05:41.7
05:43.5
Originating from the 'Sach Khand' or the temple of truth
05:43.6
05:47.9
Came to be known as the 'Alahi Bani' preached by our Gurus and elders
05:48.0
05:51.4
The Gurus would also ask our community to play the Rabab
05:51.5
05:53.6
During the Alahi Bani
05:53.7
06:01.2
The Mardanas would then play the tune on the Rabab
06:01.3
06:05.5
All of Guru Granth Sahib is written according to the Ragas
06:05.6
06:10.6
Sometimes there's Raga Tillang, Soohi, Basant
06:10.7
06:15.0
There are many Ragas and that is how the prayer is constructed
06:15.1
06:16.7
The Ragas form divine energy
06:16.8
06:20.8
Our Raga is pretty straightforward, like an open gym
06:20.9
06:25.0
We have a straightforward approach of singing 'Kalis' as well
07:34.4
07:39.2
It was at early stage that I started developing interest in Sarangi
07:40.1
07:47.0
I learned it while listening to the records of Amar Singh Shonki
07:47.1
07:51.4
The instrument took a special place in my heart
07:52.0
07:58.4
When I began to sing, I would do that along with the Sarangi
07:58.5
08:03.7
For four years I stayed at my Uncle's and Aunt's place
08:04.2
08:09.9
My mother had passed away in 1953
08:10.0
08:14.8
And I went to live with them in 1958
08:20.5
08:23.7
When I used to stay with them
08:23.8
08:28.2
I used to handle the household chores
08:28.3
08:33.1
Like farming, looking after the domesticated animals
08:33.2
08:38.0
Making manure for the farm and other things that go with it
08:38.1
08:42.9
I would come to the river bank and sing loudly with my arms out wide
09:10.3
09:14.4
The people in the audience would tell me
09:14.5
09:18.4
that my voice is not upto the mark
09:22.2
09:27.3
And some of my cousins would also be there in the group
09:27.4
09:29.7
My uncle would ask us all to sing
09:29.8
09:36.8
My cousins would mock me and say that I sang badly and it embarassed them
09:36.9
09:40.6
And that I should not sing with them
09:42.0
09:46.6
I felt really heartbroken and hurt
09:53.8
09:58.1
I felt that it was really unfair
09:58.2
10:01.0
I thought it would be better to go back to my home
10:01.1
10:03.3
My father was still there
10:03.5
10:07.0
He used to play the 'dholki' and was really into the art form
10:07.1
10:11.8
He used to have this aspiration
10:11.9
10:14.2
to watch me play music and sing
10:28.2
10:34.5
I would go to the well, stick out my neck and sing loudly
10:34.8
10:38.8
As loudly as I could so that I could hear myself through the echoes
10:38.9
10:44.3
This was something that our elders and gurus had taught us
10:57.8
11:03.0
My father passed away in 1968
11:03.1
11:07.7
I was only 21 at the time
11:09.0
11:12.7
All the responsibilities at my home fell on my shoulders
11:12.8
11:15.5
I had to take care of children while earning a living
11:15.6
11:18.1
It was a very tough time
11:18.2
11:20.6
Then came along Sant Babaji
11:20.7
11:24.6
And made my life very easy by helping me focus
11:47.5
11:54.0
All the farmland owners in the village spoke very highly of Babaji
11:54.1
11:58.9
They said he is of a pure and sacrificial nature
11:59.0
12:00.8
He won't let anything happen to you
12:08.8
12:13.6
On the fourth day on my residence at a farm
12:13.7
12:18.5
Sardar Bachan Singh came to me and told Babaji had summoned me
12:18.6
12:20.5
He also asked me to bring along my Sarangi
12:20.6
12:23.4
I was ecstatic
12:23.5
12:28.1
I hung the Sarangi on my shoulder and left
12:28.2
12:30.6
went and respectfully bowed to him
12:30.7
12:34.1
His Holiness was present right in front of me and I greeted him from a distance
12:34.2
12:38.1
"Welcome." He said
12:38.2
12:43.0
"What's your name?" He asked. 'Desh Raj' I said
12:43.1
12:47.1
"Are you a meer?" he said. I said "Yes, I am."
12:47.2
12:47.9
"Can you sing?" he asked. I said "Only a bit."
12:48.0
12:52.8
He said "I would like to listen."
13:05.3
13:08.6
I used to feel that my voice is really not up to the mark
13:13.4
13:15.0
He completely changed my perception when he said
13:15.1
13:17.3
"You have a wonderful voice!"
13:17.8
13:19.9
His words were really pure and they came true
13:21.8
13:23.8
He began to recite the poetry and I followed with the lyrics
13:24.9
13:30.3
It was a divine experience for me
13:42.3
13:46.7
Sometimes what would happen was
13:50.6
13:55.1
Everyone would leave and
13:56.2
14:01.2
It would be just the two of us left
14:01.5
14:06.3
We would continue singing 'Kalis' and feeling elated together
14:06.4
14:11.2
He would feel absolutely ecstatic at the end of it
14:35.8
14:40.6
Greetings! Please have a seat.
14:40.7
14:45.5
Thank you for having me here. Greetings to all!
14:48.3
14:50.4
May god bless you all
14:58.6
15:04.5
He has become a master at playing the Sarangi
15:04.6
15:05.8
At our 'Khulla Akhada'
15:05.9
15:07.4
We are known as 'Khulla Akhada'
15:07.9
15:13.9
He is my grandson and holds a Masters degree in Music
15:14.0
15:17.8
By God's grace. God has blessed us with this musical talent.
15:17.9
15:21.8
You did a Master's degree in Music
15:22.3
15:26.1
Do you see an overlap in folk music which has been running in your blood
15:26.2
15:29.6
And the music that you learned during your degree
15:29.7
15:32.0
Or maybe small differences
15:32.1
15:34.5
I'm glad you asked and I would love to talk about this
15:34.6
15:40.0
As we kept studying music, we understood the notations
15:40.1
15:44.6
We are playing the same things in folk music like
15:50.7
15:52.4
But what we would sing was
15:59.7
16:04.5
Wow! Its such an interesting thing to know!
16:05.3
16:09.9
The challenge is to put a deep thought into simple words
16:10.0
16:13.8
So that the coming generations can fathom thoughts
16:13.9
16:18.6
that help them rise above the flashy and materialistic things
16:18.7
16:21.4
That is the biggest challenge for us
16:21.5
16:25.4
Because we love folk music as well as the music of the new era
16:25.5
16:30.0
It would be interesting to find a way to make it work together
16:30.1
16:36.5
Such that we take a new step forward while preserving the sanctity of the art
16:40.1
16:43.6
I think this is a good time to call it a day
16:43.7
16:46.2
Let us end today's counsel
16:48.3
16:52.0
We had a great first day
17:27.0
17:32.6
We have all gathered here in the court of Heer Maayi Miyaan Ranjha
17:33.1
17:37.0
Just as we can construct a temple of Shiva anywhere his memory resides
17:37.1
17:41.9
Or even Gorakhnath's temple
17:42.0
17:46.8
Similarly we have made a temple in his name over here
17:48.1
17:51.7
Salaam Aalaikum
17:52.7
17:56.6
Saint Waaris Shah who was a wise sage
17:56.7
18:01.5
Said Heer is the soul and
18:01.6
18:06.4
Ranjha is the sage
18:06.5
18:11.3
Heer is the soul, Ranjha is the sage
18:24.1
18:26.0
Our soul is what we call Heer
18:28.0
18:31.5
The body is what we call Ranjha
18:35.9
18:41.2
"Heer and Ranjha are immortal!" is what they say
18:42.0
18:47.8
Whosoever will remember them, they will be blessed with their presence
18:48.7
18:51.1
Today we enjoy our lives to the fullest
18:52.2
18:55.5
I'm not a highly famous artist, not one of the famous singers
18:55.6
18:59.8
I don't remember the names of many Ragas
19:00.4
19:05.2
My voice is his blessing and so is my body.
19:32.9
19:36.1
Ranjha grazed cattle for 12 years of his life
19:36.2
19:38.8
It the heart that has felt it
19:38.9
19:40.0
that knows what it actually means
19:40.1
19:42.8
Love is the culprit as it can create as well as destroy
19:42.9
19:46.3
It has brought the mighty down to their knees
19:46.4
19:49.3
First dive into the world of love my friend
19:49.4
19:52.1
Then you may decide whether to become a lover or a writer
19:52.2
19:55.5
Brilliant! Very well written.
