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Heart and Soul: Sikhism’s lost song

14/04/2023 GMT

Sikhism’s lost song

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, Sikhism’s lost song

How a new generation of Sikhs are decolonising their sacred music

Monika Plaha meets the young Sikhs reviving ancient musical traditions and decolonising their sacred song.

In the heyday of the Sikh Empire, Kirtan - Sikh hymns - were performed using stringed instruments such as the sarangi, rabab and taus. The rich, complex tones these instruments create are said to evoke a deeper connection to Waheguru (God). But in the late 19th Century, these traditional instruments were replaced by European imports like the harmonium. 

Now a new generation of diaspora Sikhs is painstakingly rebuilding that musical heritage - restoring scores and gathering to teach and learn traditional instruments. In 2022, the Akal Takht, the highest temporal authority for Sikhs, signalled a revival of stringed instruments in the Golden Temple, the holiest Sikh shrine. But can they attract and train enough musicians to put strings back at the heart of Sikh worship? 
Monika Plaha meets one these musical pioneers, Harjinder Singh Lallie, and finds out how his beliefs fuel his work and how his music shapes his faith.


Producer: Rachel Briggs and Ajai Singh 
Presenter: Monika Plaha
Editor: Helen Grady
Production co-ordinator: Mica Nepomuceno

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