The land of five rivers has not been much in touch with its musical tradition. Perhaps that is why a significant portion of its folklore has become obscure. Some of the most celebrated folk instruments like taus, saranda and rabab, Tumbi, Bean which were once an integral part of Punjab’s folk music, have vanished into thin air.
And this for reasons not far to seek. Despite being blessed with a rich cultural heritage, the arts and artists of this land have been largely left to fend for themselves. the region could not boast of any institution labouring to preserve its art tradition. There are some collections in the Replica House of Punjab Agricultural University,
Sangeet Shala (music gallery), is now home to some very rare folk music instruments that ever dotted the musical scene of
A brain child of Prof Rajpal Singh, the illustrious secretary of the Akademi, the gallery has been structured at four levels which deal extensively with four aspects of
In the third section lie the enchanting folk music blends of
The first level, which has a sitar-shaped panel, is designed by Rafi Mohinder Singh. This section documents the rich tradition of folk music of
Professor Rajpal, however, confessed that it was not such a difficult task to procure the instruments as it had earlier appeared to be. "When I went to Lal Chand Yamla Jat’s son Jasdev Yamla and told him about the purpose of my visit, he was more than happy to part with his father’s revered tumbi for preservation in the gallery.
"Similarly the famous dhadd of Amar Singh Shaunki was also happily offered to us by his family which lives in Bhajjal in Hoshiarpur district. His son Pargat just said one thing: ‘Until today this dhadd belonged to one family. From tomorrow it will belong to the whole
Interestingly, tumbi was popularised by Lal Chand Yamla Jat, who started playing it during his performances. Earlier this instrument was played only by beggars.
Amar Singh Shaunki, who was known for singing Sikh dhadis and Sufi dhadis, became famous for his soulful rendition of legends like Heer-Ranjha and Mirza-Sahiba.
The third instrument in the line is Bhanne Ram’s dhol. A pioneer in drumming, Bhanne Ram was part of the first bhangra troupe that was formed after Partition. This troupe comprised bhangra sensation Manohar Deepak and instrumentalist Mangal Sunami, the famous algoze player. After playing dhol for the troupe, Bhanne Ram soon found himself in the film industry, courtesy Devika Rani.
There he went on to play the Punjabi dhol in famous films like Naya Daur and Jaagte Raho. Prof Rajpal Singh got the dhol from Bhanne Ram’s son Bahadur Ram, who lives in Sunam. From the same place he procured Mangal Sunami’s algoze.
Surinder Kaur’s ghungroos and Gurdas Mann’s dafli. Both the instruments now adorn the gallery. Prof Rajpal Singh mentioned, "Surinder came from
While a wanjhli and been have been displayed, the instruments which Jogi Kashi Nath used to play are yet to be procured by the Akademi. Prof Rajpal Singh asserted, "Jogi Kashi Nath, who excelled at playing the snake charmer’s flute, still has no parallel. His son has promised us his been."
Other rare instruments in the stringed category are saranda and israj, which have been especially made to order. Already extinct, these two instruments have been created by a carpenter in Sherpur village near Barnala. In the category of wind instruments are been, algoze, bansuri, and wanjhli. Finally come the rhythmic instruments, which always dominated the Punjabi musical scene. In this section fall the dhol, dholak, nagara, bagdu, daru, dhadd, damru, daria, khadtaal and manjira.
Another visual delight offered by the gallery is the collection of portraits of great artistes. Created with precision by Rafi Mohinder Singh, these portraits will shortly be accompanied by introductions of the artistes. This visual line begins with a beautiful portrait of Baba Mardana playing the rabab. Then come the portraits of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Sahib, the greatest exponent of Kasur Patiala Gharana, Dhadhi Amar Singh Shaunki, Surinder Kaur, Lal Chand Yamla Jat and Bhanne Ram Dholi. Also exhibited are portraits of Samund Singh Ragi, who gave a purely classical dimension to Gurbani singing, and Karnail Singh Paras, the famous kavishar of
The Sangeet Shala is a fine example of how living traditions can be captured for the knowledge of future generations. Conceived by Prof Rajpal Singh who made a porposal to this effect way back in 1999, the gallery draws inspiration from the
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