Archive for January 2016

I was thinking of rain while practicing the melodic scale of rain, Raag Megh Malhar, and thought to look up what one of my favorite poets had to say about rain and found this beautiful poem: The voice of the rain. Here is the poem followed by my observations on it.

THE VOICE OF THE RAIN.
Walt Whitman

And who art thou? said I to the soft-falling shower,
Which, strange to tell, gave me an answer, as here translated:
I am the Poem of Earth, said the voice of the rain,
Eternal I rise impalpable out of the land and the bottomless sea,
Upward to heaven, whence, vaguely form'd, altogether changed,
and yet the same,
I descend to lave the drouths, atomies, dust-layers of the globe,
And all that in them without me were seeds only, latent, unborn;
And forever, by day and night, I give back life to my own
origin, and make pure and beautify it;
(For song, issuing from its birth-place, after fulfilment, wander-
ing,
Reck'd or unreck'd. duly with love returns.)

A few observations on this poem:

Rain has never talked to the listener of the poem. It doesn't talk to everyone apparently. In this poem, Walt Whitman asks a question of the rain (Who are you?) and surprisingly, the rain responds. It was a private discussion between Walt and the rain, so he kindly translates for us, the rain-deaf.
What a beautiful way to describe rain: it is the poem of the earth. Indeed, a poem is what gives life to the world as we know it. A spiritual poem, a guru, gives life to its reciter, its student. If there were no Guru, there would be no enlightenment and thereby no life. Just like if there were no rain, there would be no fresh water, and there would be no life as we know it. Rain gives earth life, literally. So it is indeed the poem of the earth.
Walt then describes the nature of water: unending, perhaps a poem that is repeated ad infinitum. Water rises from lands and oceans and goes into the sky, and then condenses in the form of rain. In the process it does three things: (1) it gives life back to itself (it can evaporate and condense again), (2) it purifies and cleans everything it touches, and (3) it beautifies it.

[updated 2020]

Reminds me of Akhaan Jeevan - as long as I say, I live; as soon as I forget I die. Poetry and their songs are essential to life. "I am not an essential service." says Jane Hirshfield in her poem during the pandemic. I bet Walt Whitman would differ. The poet is the most essential, perhaps only lesser than her poem, Today when I could do nothing.

Revenant is based on the story of a 19th century bear trapper Hugh Glass. In the summer of 1823, five months after Hugh had joined a fur-trapping expedition in South Dakota, he came across a grizzly bear and her two cubs along the banks of the Missouri River. The protective mother was surprised by Hugh's presence and attacked him. She broke his leg, punctured his throat and ripped his scalp. Hugh's cries alerted his companions who rushed to help and killed the enraged mother with their guns.

However, Hugh was in terrible shape and expedition leaders decided that two of them would stay back with him until he died, and give him a Christian burial. The two that were going to remain behind were John Fitzgerald and a much younger man, Jim Bridger.

Credit: Twentieth Century Fox

While the rest of the expedition left, John and Jim watched over him for two days. While Hugh was still dangling between life and death, they were both getting farther and farther away from their fellow bear trappers. John was especially impatient and eventually convinced Jim to abandon Hugh. They laid him in a shallow grave and departed while he was asleep. When Hugh woke up, he found himself alone.

He was furious with his team mates for leaving him. Gravely injured, he somehow summoned the courage and energy to drag himself to a nearby spring, the first step in a six-week-long crawl back to the nearest encampment. He wanted to kill the colleagues who had left him for dead. There are many different accounts of his story and treacherous journey back. Some accounts mentioned that he killed and ate a rattlesnake during his journey; some mention that he woke one day to find a grizzly licking maggots from his wounds.

Leonardo DiCaprio in The Revenant

Credit: Kimberley French

Hugh did eventually find John and Jim, but instead of exacting a bloody revenge, he pardoned them both. What makes the story of Hugh Glass special is not necessarily just the ending, the forgiveness, but the resolve, the enduring spirit of someone who is determined. When most people would have thought he would die, he lived. In the end, Hugh says in the movie: “I ain’t afraid of dying anymore. I done it already.”

The story reminds me of Rabindranath Tagore's inspiring song Ekla Chalo where Tagore says, Walk alone if no one comes along with you!

Do you know how 'Suhaagans' remain beautiful? They accept peacefully and they speak sweetly! - Guru Nanak (Raag Sri)

Last week my maternal grandmother, Preetam Kaur, passed away, only a few months after my grandfather. Twice an immigrant, first from Pakistan to India, and then India to the US, this pink complexioned Pindi lady was full of love just like her name suggested. Gurbani was always on her lips and deep in her heart. She was dyed in Sehaj and Santokh in a way I have rarely seen anyone else. You could have known her for ages or just met her, but you could not have met her without being charmed by her smile and overwhelmed by her hospitality.

There was one quality that everyone who met her remembers her with - her sweet words. The sweetness of the Nirvair universe had somehow condensed into her. No one ever heard anything harsh from her about anyone. Whether they were present or not. She would always look at the positive side of every everyone and every instance. We met her the day before she left and she was in tremendous pain, she could not speak, but she smiled when she saw Geet, my eighteen month old daughter.

4 Generations in a Picture ...

I usually sing Gauri at the occasion of death. This weekened, one person at her funeral mentioned that a soul like her descends to earth once in a generation. I thought it was apt to sing Raag Suhi in this case. Raag Suhi is named after the color "Suhaa" or red. The word has a common origin with "Suhaag" which connotes the bliss of a bride that is in love. Red is also the universal the color of love. This is the raag we sing when someone gets married. The laavan are sung in this raag. It would only be apt to sing Raag Suhi to remember this pink complexioned lady imbued in love.

This simple composition in Raag Suhi is dedicated to her sweetness ... I am sharing here the recording I did at home on the piano before singing the same shabad at the San Jose Gurdwara. Listen, enjoy, download and share with loved ones ...

For Lyrics and Translation:

Suhi Mahalla 5 Chhanth

Mith Bolara Ji Har Sajjan Swami Mora
Hau Sammal Thakki Ji
Oh Kade Na Bolai Kaura

Kaura Bol Na Jaane Pooran Bhagwane
Avgun Ko Na Chitare
Patit Paavan Har Birad Sadaye
Ik til nahi Bhanne Ghale

Ghat Ghat Vasi Sarab Nivasi
Nerai Hi Te Neraa
Nanak Daas Sadaa Sarnaagat
Har Amrit Sajjan Mera

In 2010, I composed a simple melody for Guru Arjan's shabad Charan Kamal Prabh Kay Nit Dhiyaoon, Guru Arjan Dev's shabad focused on continual remembrance of the scented path of the Beloved. The composition was made in raag Bilawal in such a way that the chords repeat in a 4-bar cycle. That way the music meditates while the singer sings every line of the shabad. Many of the melodic elements are also repeated throughout the shabad. Even when we are singing different words, in different melodies, there is a continuity in the music, a humble attempt to depict melody and music losing their own ego.

Collab with Janapriya Levine and Kimberly Foree

While I have been singing this shabad at different venues over the years, I have never released any studio quality recording. This year we are launching a new arrangement and video of this shabad. Much of the work on the arrangement and the video was done by American multi-instrumentalist and video producer Janapriya Levine. Janapriya has intimate knowledge of ancient raagas as well as pop arrangements. His music videos often feature Indian fusion music(1). Additionally, Kimberly Foree has played the Oboe and provided inspiration throughout the process of creation and editing. Both of them really poured their love into this production. We hope that you will enjoy this as much as we have enjoyed creating this. We will be singing this shabad live in various kirtans and hope to see some of you there ...

The video:

The Raag

Bilawal is a raag which uses all "shudha" notes, and is designed to evoke feelings of remembrance of love, the remembrance of one's spiritual guru. Guru Arjan Dev reminds us in the shabad, "let me never ever forget you." Most of the popular compositions in this raag are in an alternative form of the raag called, Alhaiya Bilwal, which uses both Ni's in addition to all shuddha notes. This composition is truer to the older and more stricter interpretation of the notes of the raag. But there is one important difference and nuance ... While the raag is uttarang, much of the melody of the shabad is poorvang; this was intentionally done to create a sense of continuity desired by the words of the shabad.

The words:

Charan means feet, and Kamal means lotus. Hence Charan Kamal literally means Lotus Feet. The most important message from this poem is to remember the scented path of the beloved continually. Following is a translation:

Charan Kamal Prabh Kay Nit Dhiayaon

I meditate continually on the lotus feet of love.

Kavan sumat jit preetam paaon

What wisdom will lead me to attain my love?

Kavan Sanjog milaon prabh apnay

What blessed destiny will lead me to meet my love?

Pal pal nimakh sadaa har japnay

Each and every moment meditate on love.

Aisee kirpa karoh prabh meray

Please, bless me with such mercy my love

Har Nanak bisar na kahoo beray

That I may never ever forget you.

(1) Learn more about Janapriya's music at https://www.patreon.com/janapriya and watch his other videos at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCf4pvyOdaljpTW7NUgOWO4A.

THE VOICE OF THE RAIN.

SHIVPREET SINGH

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