An unprecedented portrait of Sikh devotional music demonstrating how musical traditions shift to meet changing needs.
Kirtan—the sung expression of sacred verses—spans the Indian subcontinent, but it plays a unique role in the Sikh faith. In Sikh Kirtan and ItsJourneys, musicologist Gurminder Kaur Bhogal introduces the devotional tradition of kirtan, examining it alongside the writings of holy figures, the Sikh Gurus and Bhagats, and its practice among musicians. The long-established tradition of kirtan originated in a canon of instruments and songs, each of which produces a singular spiritual and worldly effect when kirtan is sung. However, the realities of colonization and migration have necessitated changes to these canonical practices. Bhogal offers a deep exploration of the traditions that gave rise to kirtan and a robust portrait of the many transformations kirtan has undergone, particularly in the wide-ranging Sikh diaspora, dedicating special attention to marginal kirtan players such as women and innovators developing digital techniques and styles. A practicing kirtaniye, Bhogal has spent her life studying and performing this music, steeped in the histories and controversies her book describes.
Through a rigorous explanation of the traditions and evolutions of kirtan, Bhogal ultimately shows that kirtan is fluid, multi-faceted, and ever-changing because it reflects the shifting spiritual needs and musical tastes of devotees and practitioners across the world. Moreover, wherever kirtan is offered and received, it heightens corporeal vibrations between practitioners and devotees to motivate a sense of social purpose, social responsibility, and selfless service.
By:
Gurminder Kaur Bhogal
Imprint: University of Chicago Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 25mm
Weight: 513g
ISBN: 9780226845951
ISBN 10: 0226845958
Series: Chicago Studies in Ethnomusicology
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 19 November 2025
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Notes on Transliteration, Accompanying Website, and Classroom Teaching Preface: The Vast Ocean of Sikh Kirtan Acknowledgments Introduction Historicizing Kirtan in Punjab and the Diaspora: Case Study—Kenya Navigating Gender Inequality Crosscurrents: The Many Tides of Sikh Kirtan The Journeys of Sikh Kirtan Why Sikh Musicology? Chapter 1. The Musical and Sonic Dimensions of Sri Guru Granth Sahib From Bhakti to Kirtan: Rāg Compilation and Implications for Musical Performance Other Musical Details in Verse Titles: Partāl and Aasa ki Vār A Mystery Term: Ghar How Should Kirtan Be Listened to and What Does Kirtan Do? Listening Expansively to the Kirtan of the Cosmos Avian Yearnings for the Divine in Birdsong Chapter Summary Chapter 2. Tracking the Harmonium from Christian Missionary Hymns to Sikh Kirtan Destination Punjab: The Harmonium Arrives in India “Civilizing the Heathen”: How Female Missionaries Used the Harmonium to Signal Modernity and Spiritual Progress A Missing Link? Missionary Dependence on Mirasi as an Entryway to Sikh Kirtan The Issues at Stake Showcasing the Harmonium in Sikh Kirtan Pedagogical Reform and the Rise of Female Kirtaniye Chapter Summary Chapter 3. Anahad Nād and the Sonic Embodiment of Divinity Toward a Theory of Anahad Nād: The Case of Bhai Hira Singh (1879–1926) The Critical Commentaries of Bhai Vir Singh and Bhai Randhir Singh From Hath Yoga to Raj Yoga: Arrival at the Tenth Door (Dasam Dwar) and Beyond The Fourth State and Timbral Resonance of Panch Shabad Chapter Summary Chapter 4. Hearing (Anahad) Instruments and the Rabab in Sikh Art Anahad Instruments The Rabab in Sikh Art The Rise and Flows of the Rabab (Anahad) Rabab as Seen Through Sikh Iconography The Extant Sikh Rabab and Its Stories The Rabab in the B-40 Janamsakhi Manuscript Anahad Nād and Pictorial Resonance: The Halo and Sonic Vibration in Sikh Art Chapter Summary Chapter 5. Engineering Anahad Nād as Digital Bliss: The Case of Amritvela Trust Kirtan and Acoustics Current Mediations of Technology in Sikh Gurudware Establishing Amritvela Trust in Ulhasnagar (Maharashtra) Amritvela Trust’s Kirtan: Mediating Darshan Between the Metaphysical and the Digital Headphones and Absorption Experiencing Digital Anahad Nād A Vibratory Feedback Loop Between Kirtan and Seva Vibrating Bodies of the Twenty-First Century Chapter Summary Chapter 6. The Digital Journeys of Kirtan: Pursuing Innovation and Gender Equality Davwinder (Dindae) Sheena: Crafting a “Sikh Sound” Taren Kaur: “Integrate Women into Kirtan Darbar” Jasleen Kaur: “You Can’t Stop the Revolution” Veer Manpreet Singh: The Innovation of Slow Kirtan and Healing with “Tuhi Tuhi” Bhai Nirmal Singh Khalsa (Pipli Wale) and Kirtan Studio: “Kirtan Is Life” Shivpreet Singh: “Listening to Guru Nanak” Epilogue Appendix Glossary Notes Index
Gurminder Kaur Bhogal is Catherine Mills Davis Professor in Music at Wellesley College. She is the author of Details of Consequence: Ornament, Music, and Art in Paris and Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune, both published by Oxford University Press.
Reviews for Sikh Kirtan and Its Journeys: Instruments, Theories, Technologies
""Sikh Kirtan and Its Journeys transcends prior prescriptivist writing and debates over authenticity to present a remarkably inclusive account of the global Sikh community’s multivocal musical practices. Deftly pivoting between musicological analysis, historiography, iconography, and ethnographic interviews, Bhogal provides fresh insight on such less thematized topics as women kirtan performers, heritage instruments, digital technologies, and epistemologies of sound."" -- Gibb Schreffler, author of 'Dhol: Drummers, Identities, and Modern Punjab' ""It is rare to encounter a work of such academic sophistication communicated with such clarity, accessibility, and resonance across multiple disciplines. Drawing on original verse, historical documents, traditional exegeses, oral narratives, and sound recordings, Gurminder Bhogal offers an invaluable archive of Sikh Kirtan. Her theoretical framing, paired with guided musical listening, forms an effective aesthetic approach to appreciating the complexity and beauty of the Guru Granth Sahib’s musical modes. A landmark contribution that offers enduring insight into the sound and spirit of Sikh Kirtan."" -- Nikky-Guninder Kaur Singh, author of 'Janamsakhi: Paintings of Guru Nanak in Early Sikh Art' “Bhogal fills a significant gap in a domain of devotional music that is central to the Sikh religion and worship, yet one that scholars have so far neglected. She brings her sophisticated intellect, which is undergirded by her command over a myriad academic fields, whilst combining it with her fine practitioner’s skills as a talented musician who can play multiple instruments. Bhogal sets the gold standard for scholars to follow and for a broad audience to learn from her singular book in the present.” -- Parminder Bhachu, author of 'Movers and Makers: Uncertainty, Resilience and Migrant Creativity in Worlds of Flux'
