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!

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:

On October 6, 2010, Pratibha Patil, the president of India, visited my old stomping grounds of Khalsa College, Amritsar, to preside over the ‘Nanhi Chhaan’ campaign to “save the girl child,” an issue I hold very dear to me. While another glorious chapter has been added to 118 year old history of Khalsa College,, when for the first time the president of India took part in a function of the College. I wrote my poem over 30 years ago and since then have raised a son and daughter, with my wife, Inderbir Dhillon, and have two beautiful grand-daughters. So this is obviously not a new issue for me, but one that has become stronger over the years, and it is my hope that through more publicized events like this, her visit will enlighten and help change the current policies and mindset of Punjab as well as motivate other states (and other countries) to adopt this model for spreading awareness of women empowerment and other environmental issues concerning society at present as expected.

My poem was written with the hope of accomplishing this same task and I have recently created a moving image slideshow with images set to my voice to create yet another facet of this issue.

Below is the Punjabi version of my poem. I usually create an English translation of my poems when asked. If you would like to see one with English subtitles, contact me or leave a comment, and I am more than happy to do so in the near future. If you are interested in learning about the story behind this kavita, check out kavita di kahani here. In the meantime, ponder over my kavita, “Dheeaan” and let me know what you think:

A Brief History:

Punjabi is the language spoken by all those who either live in Punjab or can trace their roots to the Punjab region. Punjab literally translates to the land of five rivers and at one time extended all the way from Delhi to Afghanistan. The day India celebrates its independence from British rule (August 15, 1947) is also the day when the state of Punjab suffered a historical loss of a tremendous proportion. West Punjab was acquired by Pakistan slicing Punjab more than in half and left Indian Punjab without a capital city (which used to be Lahore, now in Pakistan). This led to creating a new capital city in the form of Chandigarh. The second and equally stunning blow hit Punjab in 1966 when the allegedly majority Hindi speaking state of Haryana and part of Himachal Pradesh were carved out of it and Chandigarh became a Union Territory.

The Punjabi language is not the domain of any ethnic group or religion although the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh Holy Book, is also written in poetic Punjabi verse. Under the pretext of National unity, in the Punjab region of Pakistan and India, Punjabi is being systematically replaced with government support for Hindi/English or Urdu/English. There are many non-Hindi speaking states in South India where this Hindi/English combination proved unsuccessful because of a unified opposition by regional cultures who believe in unity through diversity. Punjab, unfortunately does not have the support from its neighboring states and has to rely on the global presence of Punjabis to keep their language and culture alive. According to a UNESCO report, if no positive steps are taken to preserve the Punjabi language, this thirteenth widely spoken language in the world will disappear in the next fifty years.

Punjabi Poetry At A Glance:

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 forms of poetry. 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 will however provide you with an overview.

A Ghazal has its origins in the Arabic language and is traditionally considered a more scholarly form of poetry. A ghazal is a collection of shers which follow the rules of matla, maqta, behr, kaafiyaa and radif. A sher is a two lined poem capable of conveying a message without needing anything else to support it. It is therefore essentially a collection of these shers. 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 didn’t I? Any poem which does not pass the criteria to be considered a ghazal is called a kavita in Punjabi and a Nazm in Urdu.

My Favorite Poets:

My favorites from the past include Bullhe Shah, Waris Shah, Ali Haider, and Sultan Bahu. Bulleh Shah was a Sufi poet who is most famous for his Kafis or short poems of about six stanzas and Ali Haidar is well known for his Si-harfis which are poems of 30 stanzas each beginning with a letter of the Persian alphabet. Waris Shah is best known for his rendition of the tragic love story of Heer and Ranjha.

Apart from my own poems I also sing selected poems from my favorite poets such as Amrita Pritam, Sukhwinder Amrit, Suikhbir Sandhu, Surjit Pattar, Dr. Jagtar, Shiv Kumar Batalvi, Baba Nazmi and on special request “Heer” by Waris Shah which is my all time favorite.