SHABAD (Sanskrit sabda, of obscure etymology) is generally rendered as sound, voice or tone. Another series of meanings includes word, utterance, speech. In distinctive Sikli usage shabad means a hymn or sacred work from the Guru Granth Sahib. In the theological sense, it stands for the `Word` revealed by

HIRA SINGH RAGI, BHAI (1879-1926), eminent exponent of Sikh devotional music, was born in 1879 at Faruka, in Shahpur district, now in Pakistan. His father`s name was Bhai Bhag Singh and mother`s Satbharai. Bhag Singh was well versed in classical music and played string instruments such as sdraizgi and

SUNDAR SINGH, RAGI (1892-1937), head musician at Sri Harimandar at Amritsar, was born at Amritsar in 1892, the son of Bahi Amar Singh Arora, himself a musician of considerable standing. Sundar Singh served his apprenticeship with Bhai Atra, a well known rababi (rebeckplayer), who was a disciple of Bhai Moti,

ASTPADI, from Sanskrit astapada, astapad or astapadf, is a poetic composition comprising ast or eight padas or stanzas. No specific rhyme scheme, measure or burden is prescribed for it, but all the eight stanzas must be in the same metre and measure. Lines in each stanza are generally rhymed.

JAVALA SINGH, BHAI SAHIB (1872-1952), a renowned exponent of the Sikh devotional music, was born in 1872 at the village of  Saidpur in Kapurthala district of the Punjab. His father, Bhai Deva Singh and grandfather, Parijab Singh were in their day celebrated rdgis or musicians who recited Sikh kirtan

VAR, a verse form in Punjabi popular in folklore as well as in refined poetry. In the old bardic tradition of the Punjab, var meant the poem itself with its typical theme as also the form in which it was cast. The earliest vars were ballads of battles and

ALAHUNI,(mournful song by women) When a person dies. women cry and often sing songs in chorus in praise Of the deceased. There is a lot of pessimism in, such songs. Generally professional women used to lead in the singing of mourning songs. Guru Nanak used this form of poetry

KAFI (Arabic Qafi), literally stands for the leader, the enlightener, one who fulfils the need. In poetics it denotes the refrain in a song or hymn, and is also the title given to a poetic form in Arabic as well as in Indian literature. Guru Nanak was the first to

ALANKAR,is the singing of notes (seams) in the melodic phrase of a raga. It can be done in different laya (tempo) which may be slow, medium or fast. A lankar literally means an ornament or decoration. It is the repetition of the musical notes of a raga in a

KHUSHAL SINGH, BHAI (1862-1945), holy man with mastery of Sikh music, was the son of Bhai Gurmukh Singh, a Jatt Sikh of Daudhar, a village 22 km southeast of Moga (30°48`N, 75°10`E), in Faridkot district of the Punjab. Blind from birth, Khushal Singh received instruction in

KIRTAN (from Skt. kirii, i.e. to praise, celebrate or glorify), a commonly accepted mode of rendering devotion to God by singing His praises, is a necessary part of Sikh worship. Music plays a significant role in most religious traditions. In Sikhism it is valued as the highest form of expression