Pashaura Singh Dhillon

It is Election Time again!

While lines are being drawn here in America, the land of milk and honey, the battle has already begun back home in Punjab, where drugs flow in otherwise drying rivers. The drug problem that has been ravaging through Punjab is no longer something that can be swept under the carpet. It used to be a running joke in India that a housewife in Punnjab has to walk longer to buy the mirch-masala for her kitchen than for her son to get his alcohol or hard drugs delivered at home. What is interesting is while there are so many other ailments such as indebtedness, failed education system, law and order, mass unemployment amongst educated youth, human rights, corruption to name a few, which are dragging Punjab down, the same politicians who ignored the rising drug problem in Punjab for more than a decade, are now crying out loud to declare it as their top priority. It used to be that Punjabi politicians seeking funding from NRIs would talk about Punjab in romantic terms. Now, almost every politician tells us here that Punjab is in the Tube.

I don’t blindly endorse any particular party, but it invigorates me to see any chance of hope. Before Obama had even won the primaries back in 2007, I was so moved by the breath of fresh air he symbolized to the political landscape of American politics, that I wrote and sang a poem called “Obama de Naa’, which my son Navdeep S. Dhillon helped me to make it into a video slideshow and posted on you tube.

The only candidate from Punjab I had the oportunity to listen to live was Manpreet Badal.  Similar to my feelings on Obama before the primaries, I have great hope for Manpreet’s vision of Punjab and what he represents to the people of Punjab: HOPE!

First : Read my post, ‘Irony of Punjabis and our 2012 Election Part 1, and Part 2

And please also take a moment to listen to two ghazals: the first one I wrote back in 2008 before Obama had even won the Primaries, and the second one is taken from a radio show I co-host when I sang a ghazal on what Manpreet Badal represents. As always, feel free to leave me a comment either on my YouTube Channel, down below, or on FaceBook, and I will be sure to respond!

Nine months ago, after many practice sessions, and gentle nudges by my son and daughter, I was finally happy with the first track of my a-capella (without musical accompaniment) interpretation of Waris Shah’s Heer: Ranjha Leaves Takht Hazara. It was the heart-wrenching scene wrought with emotion when Ranjha makes the incredibly difficult decision to leave everything he knows and loves behind: his family, his ancestral home, and in a sense, his entire world. Something I am sure many of us, especially those living outside of India, can relate to.

As many of you know, I have never studied singing or poetry in any professional capacity, either through a Guru or in a classroom. At a very early age, I discovered the power poetry had to describe emotions and to change minds, first through poetic verses written in the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Book, and also through the progressive poetry of many stalwarts in PreetLarhi (I was introduced to the magazine by Baba Sohan Singh Bhakna).

The first time I read Waris Shah’s Heer on stage , I was studying Ag.(horticulture) at Khalsa College in Amritsar and was mesmerized by the depth of human emotion that was conveyed in the words of Waris Shah from a seemingly simple tragic love story.

In the decades that followed, many life changes took place. I became a landscape architect, a husband and I became a father. With my family, we travelled and lived in many countries half round the world through my job involving the United Nations projects, eventually ending up in Central California , U.S.A. where I returned to my “roots” in agriculture. Like Ranjha, I also had to make the difficult decision to leave not only my home, and everything that was familiar to me, but also my home country. Now I am in my 70s and am a double grandfather to two beautiful grand-daughters and a grand-son.

The reason that I, like many Punjabis the world over, have such a deep connection with Waris Shah’s Heer stems from the beauty of the poetry, the universal sense of longing and separation, but also because this is a part of Punjabi literature, which many have disparaged as having nothing of substance. On the other hand some learned people make the comparison with Shakespeare or references to Greek tragic love stories, such as Jeet Singh “Seetal” who compiled a wonderful scholarly book on “Heer Waris” published by Navyug Press and presented to Bhai Sahab Dr. Jodh Singh, the then VC. Punjabi University Patiala in 1963. He describes the legend of ‘Heer-Ranjha’ as follows:

“In the land of Five Rivers, Waris breathed a new life in to the most famous love story of Heer-Ranjha. In so doing, he created such a ‘Shahkaar’ which played the same significant role in the history of the Punjabi literature as was played by the mythical romance of ‘Hero-Leandran’ in the Greek literature.”

In order not to confuse the reader in what is a legend, a myth or a fable , suffice it to say here that in the society in which it is told, a myth is usually regarded as a true account of the remote past. Consequently the love story of Heer and Ranjha is believed to be a true story of two lovers who once roamed the land of Jhang Sial and Takhat Hazara now in Pakistan, but will always remain in Punjab and in the minds and hearts of Punjabis the world over.

There have been many scholarly books and articles that have been published since then, some separating the myth from the reality, but most follow a similar train of thought and feel the need to compare this love story to a more familiar counterpart. My view is that Heer-Ranjha is in a category of its own. And the reason I say this is not out of an emotional response because of my Punjabi roots, but because there really is no good comparative love story. In the world’s most famous tragic love stories: Romeo and Juliet, Marc Antony and Cleopatra, Hero and Leandran, and even love stories from India and Pakistan like Salim and Anarkali, or Laila Majnoon, they all end in the same way. The doomed lovers commit suicide when they realize they can never be together. In Heer-Ranjha, it is much more painful because the lovers still have this realization, but they must continue to live out their lives without their true loves by their side. I can’t think of anything more enduring and tragic than that.

My reason for even wanting to give my own interpretation of the beautiful verses from Waris Shah is to add to the understanding of how profound it is, and for Punjabis to be proud of their literary heritage. Several years ago, I was in Chandigarh for my first Rubaroo (a book launch) for my first collection of poetry. It was attended by many students of Punjabi literature from Punjab University and since there are many expanded versions of it freely available, I was surprised that many of them had not read Waris Shah’s real (Aslee) Heer. Many of them hadn’t even read any version of it!

After being happy with that first track which I finalized nine months ago, with the help of my son, I uploaded it to bandcamp and then to FaceBook where I received some very encouraging responses from people from all over the world.  Many of you (especially my family, who are my biggest supporters) wanted me to start working on the second track. My daughter even drew the cover design back in June for a Father’s Day Present to encourage me.

I am pleased to tell you that I have finally finished the second track of Heer (also acapella) after a significant amount of recording sessions. I would like to thank all of you for all your encouragement and support. Please listen to the latest track at the top of this blog post, “Heer: Yaran Nu” and let me know what you think through comments or email.

Although I did not practice much since my college days, a series of audio recordings in my voice, singing selected passages from Waris’s Heer, will continue to improve and follow in my next blogs and You Tube. Punjabi lovers stay tuned!

Many of you have been asking me for an audio download of the poem I sang at the Kavi Darbar of the 542nd Guru Nanak Prakaash Utsav in Caruthers, California celebrating November being officially designated as Sikh-American Awareness Month. If you haven’t read my blog on that yet, you can do so here: Caruthers Makes History. If you’d like some basic information and terms in Punjabi Poetry, please also check out Punjabi Poetry At A Glance.

Without further adieu, here is my poem, which you can now listen to and download for free:

This year for Father’s Day, I received a very nice joint gift. My daughter, Navreet Kaur Dhillon, is a physician in the Bay Area, and also a very talented artist. My son, Navdeep Singh Dhillon, is a Creative Writing/English Literature lecturer in New York City.

Both my son and daughter collaborated via phone and internet from East and West Coast to create a CD cover for “Heer,” an album I didn’t even know I was making! I had recorded one track giving my own interpretation to Waris Shah’s epic poem, and uploaded it to FaceBook after several people requested me. It was (and still is) available for free download in a blog post I wrote, “Heer Forever Stands Tall (ਗੁੱਝੀ ਰਹੇ ਨਾ ਹੀਰ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਵਿਚੋਂ )” in addition to Audio Downloads (above in the navigation bar). Many have since asked me to sing some more tracks, which I had said I would do in my own time. Now, it looks like I better get moving!

Below is my daughter’s original drawing:

Original Artwork for CD Cover of "Heer" by Navreet Kaur Dhillon

And below is my son’s contribution. Have a listen to this CD, which currently only has one track, but there will more soon! Let me know what you think!

While you wait for “Heer” to be completed, check out my e-books, available in Punjabi (both Gurmukhi and Shahmukhi scripts) and English. You can also download/listen to completed digital albums/CDs at www.pashaurasinghdhillon.com/audiodownloads

There are, of course, many poets in Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, and English who I have read and been influenced by in some way over the years, but these eleven poets are perhaps the reason I am even a poet today. Their beautiful verses touched my soul from a very young age and helped me make sense of post-partition Punjab, as well as the world around me. It has taken me around 60 years to feel comfortable enough to pay homage to my all time favorite Punjabi poet, Waris Shah. This is my rendition of one part of his epic tragic love story,”Heer.” This particular scene is when Ranjha makes the difficult decision to leave Takhat Hazara.

Classic Punjabi Poets

Sultan Bahu (1628-1691) wrote in Punjabi and the Persian language, but is much more well known for his Punjabi poetry. What separates him from many other poets of his time (and indeed of any time) is that his verses are sung in a variety of genres associated with Sufi music.

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One of the questions I am often asked about is something that confuses many people: what are the various terms in Punjabi poetry? People have this misconception that Punjabi poetry is not at par with poetry from other languages in the region, such as Urdu or Hindi. It has an incredibly long history and is as complicated as any other form of literature. There is also a misconception that Punjabi is not a poetic language. What this is based on, I am not sure, but if this were true, at over 70 years old, I would have found another language to sing and write my poetry in by now!

Like many other ancient languages, Punjabi has evolved through various stages and Punjabi poetry is perhaps as old as Punjab’s Indus Valley civilization. It has beautiful and complex ballads both from the past and contemporary Punjabi poetry can easily be compared to verses from Shakespearean sonnets, traditional Japanese haikus, or modern “free verse” forms of poetry, including Spoken Word. Stalwarts from the past have contributed significantly to Punjabi poetry like Waris Shah, Sultan Bahu, Bullhe Shah, Chandar Bhan and Ali Haidar amongst many others. Bhai Vir Singh, Puran Singh. Mohan Singh and Amrita Pritam are considered luminaries who pioneered the new era in Punjabi Poetry. Properly defining the different styles and forms found in Punjabi poetry is an impossible task for someone who is not a literary historian. I have never taken a poetry class, or studied the form in an academic setting. I have read countless poems over the decades and they have all, in some shape of form, influenced my views on life and, of course, on my poetry.  Here is Punjabi Poetry at a Glance:

Definitions
The ghazal has its origins in the Arabic language and is traditionally considered a more scholarly form of poetry. It is a collection of couplets that embody a single thought or subject. A couplet is known as a sher. The plural of a sher is an ashaar(s). A  ghazal contains  5-15 ashaars and follows the rules of matla, maqta, behr, kaafiyaa and radif.
Here is an example of a sher from Shiv Kumar Batalvi’s poem, “ਮਾਏ ਨੀ ਮਾਏ”/ Mae Ni Mae :
ਮਾਏ ਨੀ ਮਾਏ/ Mae Ni Mae
ਮੈਂ ਇਕ ਸ਼ਿਕਰਾ ਯਾਰ ਬਣਾਇਆ/ Mai ik shikra yaar banalia

There are many subcategories of a ghazal and the rules that govern its definition can get very complex. For example, a ghazal is an arrangement of lines whereby the first two lines rhyme with each other which in turn rhyme with the fourth, sixth, eighth and so forth. Each couplet conveys a complete message and may be interconnected to continue a theme. I told you it was confusing!

Any poem which does not pass the criteria to be considered a ghazal is called a kavita in Punjabi and a nazm in Urdu.

For a more in-depth look at the intricacies of the ghazal and many of the terms surrounding it, check out this article, “What is a Ghazal?”

Yesterday evening, I was invited to say a few words and present the Moving Image Slideshow of my poem, “Dheeaan: Daughters” for Jakara Movement’s first Ladoos: Pink and Blue Lohri Celebration at the Sikh Center of the Pacific Coast in Selma, California. I have been very impressed with the strides that the next generation of Sikhs have made through Jakara Movement, which is made up entirely of Sikh youths. The story of why I even wrote this poem can be read here at Kavita Di Kahani. Below are the Music Slideshow (with translation) and the downloadable audio version.

MOVING IMAGE SLIDESHOW

FREE AUDIO DOWNLOAD
Dheean: Daughters by pashaurasinghdhillon

Lohri is still erroneously thought of as a celebration of the birth of a son. And that somehow, the birth of a daughter is not worthy of a celebration, or the distributing of ladoos. I have a son and a daughter, as well as two grand-daughters. I cannot understand how anyone can look at the birth of a child and say that one is “better” than the other. So, while I was a little uneasy about eating a blue ladoo, I was willing to try it, despite it being bad for my cholesterol.

There were many young and very young members of the congregation, so I was very pleased when they all sat attentively listening to me speak, and watched my Moving Image Slideshow set to my voice. The occasion was to celebrate the birth of newborn boys and girls in the Fresno area collectively as a community, especially including those older girls whose parents had not been able to celebrate Lohri at their birth for one reason or another.

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As many of you know,  Dr. Mamta Joshi, a well known Sufi singer in India, invited me to attend her concert in Canada where she was singing one of my most prized poems: Umber Di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies. I was a little nervous about how she would interpret this poem that is so dear to me, and I was very pleased with her beautiful rendition.

I am pleased to make the announcement that Dr. Mamta Joshi’s rendition in Sufi Taan of Umber Di Shehzadiye : To the Princess of the Skies with English subtitles is finally here! Sit back, enjoy and judge for yourself. Your comments are welcome as always!

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As many of you know, Dr, Mamta Joshi, a well known Sufi singer from Punjab, is singing one of my most prized poems, “Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies” that I wrote 41 years ago. She specially invited me to attend her concert in Surrey, and with such a special invitation, I couldn’t refuse. Besides, I was excited to hear her interpretation of my poem. Even despite some hiccups, it was a fantastic show and an equally great honor to attend Dr. Mamta Joshi’s maiden concert Mehfil-e-Sufi in this very important part of the concert world Surrey on October 10, 2010.

My wife, Inderbir and I flew to Seattle from San Francisco on Saturday and stayed overnight with relatives. We drove from Seattle to Surrey across the border in Canada, the next day on Sunday with my cousin sister, brother in  law and my nephew Navtej, an Aircraft Engineer behind the wheel using Highway 5. We were there right on time and the Bell Art Center Auditorium with a capacity of 1200 was nearly packed.

It was dark inside and the stage was so beautifully designed and decorated with Sufiana ornaments. The subtle lighting arrangement on the stage made it glow like a jewel in the crown of surrounding darkness. Equally subtly, the musicians touched the strings and the tabla, the violin and other instruments mingled to make a very melodious sound. Suddenly Chetan Mohan, the MC announced Dr. Mamta Joshi’s arrival as she bowed to her admirers who were sitting waiting for her to show up and got seated, settling down in front of the multi-microphones.

Perhaps very few of the audience members, except myself, knew that the comfortably seated looking orchestra was hurriedly assembled as she could only bring less than half of the musician team with her from India and had very little time to rehearse with all of them as one team.  So I was kind of nervous to think how she will pull them all together in such a complicated classical music composition. But it was fascinating to watch her in great shape against all the odds of her distress and discomfort she encountered due to visa problems for her husband Chetan Mohan, toddler son and the musicians. Since they  had arrived at the eleventh hour, there was not much time to relax and get in shape.

So the show began with the Sufi prayer and then gradually progressed in a very melodious way to cover everything the audience had asked for nonstop for nearly four hours. The Singing Doctor proved her metal and leadership qualities; the newly met musician’s team from two different countries proved their professionalism by playing and singing it in one tune in such a short time. Everyone seemed to have loved it which one could judge from the applause. Talking about the applause, interestingly it was much prolonged after she sang “Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies” or it seems so to me because I was there. The young doctor was very kind to have us seated in the VVIP first row and stopped her show to say some very kind words about me, how she found me on the internet and then asked me to identify myself before she sang “Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies” with the most beautiful ta’ans.

This Mehfil-e-Sufi was perhaps one of the few mehfils of its kind in an environment which is currently so used to Bhangra and dancing beats everywhere. Mamta managed to pin some of her more enthusiastic younger admirers down to their seats for nearly 4 hours to listen to some serious stuff such as Sharnjit Fida’s written “Dili vilkdi te Tarhphda Lahor vekhya” and “Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies” written by Pashaura Singh Dhillon of California (yes, that’s me!).

Also in the audience, the most famous couple of Surrey, Gurmant Grewal and Nina Grewal MP, graciously stopped by us and congratulated us for attending and be a part of the Mamta show across the border. It was a very thoughtful gesture. Nina Grewal made me feel even prouder when she specifically mentioned to me that her parents are also Dhillons and that she felt very proud that I had written“Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies.”

We had to return to Seattle across the border overnight and therefore had to leave immediately after the show. Consequently we could not meet her to say good bye. The next morning, they had assumed I would still be in Surrey, and were both disappointed to hear that we wouldn’t be able to meet, even though I told them I completely understood how stressful the day of performance can be. And add to that the extra stress of not having all of your musicians and visa problems! I can only imagine how she pulled it off and made it look so effortless to her audience! Besides, I am looking forward to meeting her on the next tour which will be in the United States next summer when she will be incorporating my poem, “Dheeaan,” included below:

Mamta Joshi’s next concert took place in Abbotsford on October 17. As soon as I receive a video and audio of “Umber di Shehzadi: To the Princess of the Skies” in her voice, I will post it on the blog for  my fans and friends to share it with one and all. Meanwhile listen and watch this youtube video of Mamta Joshi singing Sharnjit Fida’s written “Dili vilkdi te Tarhphda Lahor vekhya” about the devastating effects of the 1947 partition: