November 19, 2008 in USA
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PUNJABI PRIDE

West is hooked onto this ragi’s guitar

By: Rohit Mullick | TNN
 
Chandigarh: Dya Singh loves his makki di roti with saag, and bhangra is one of his weaknesses. But here’s what sets this Sikh apart. When Dya Singh mixes the strains of vintage Sikh shabad-kirtan with the melody of his electric guitar, what flows is his brand of devotional fusion. The music that rocks the West!

And for this truly eclectic Punjabi, inspiration can come from an Elvis Presley to a Mehendi Hassan and even Chinese folk music. Maybe that’s one of the reasons why Dya has been able to achieve what no other ragi has. He has got the West addicted to his versions of traditional Sikh devotional music, the high-energy shabad kirtans. His unique style has got music buffs across the globe raving about his rare fusion music and helped the Punjabi NRIs to reconnect with roots of their faith. He is, to say the least, the master interpreter of traditional Sikh mystical melodies. Born in Malaysia, settled down in Australia, but a true Sikh and a Punjabi at heart, that’s Dya Singh for you.

It has been quite a journey for this global Punjabi whose parents come from Ludhiana and relatives still live in Chandigarh and Punjab. Youngest of his three brothers and a sister, Singh’s family still retains its ancestral land in Bassian village near Raiko.

 

His father moved to the old Malaya with his two older brothers and mother in 1948. His sister was left behind in Punjab with his grandparents. Singh, who grew up under various influences, uses musical instruments like guitar, violin, mandolin, santoor and a didgeridoo during stage performance and while singing at the gurdwaras.

And when Singh thought the so-called ‘‘traditional’’ Sikh kirtan was boring, he decided to stretch the musical frontiers. ‘‘The two vaja and one jordhi (tabla) are proving less and less popular with the younger generation. Yes, for want of a better word, it is boring. It might do for the middle-aged, old-aged and the ‘pious’ but not the young Sikhs at large,’’ says Singh.

He adds, ‘‘I believe our mode of kirtan is making use of the traditions or at least the ones I know, and making them relevant to the younger generation by using instruments the younger generation are familiar with like electric guitar and violin, and also using some of their modes like rap, jazz, etc and modern rhythms and percussion styles.’’

The ragi, who likes to think out of the box, believes that there is a need to demystify the Sikh mystical music. ‘‘I like to demystify so that listeners can train themselves to understand the message rather than split hairs over musical notes and styles. The message is more important — not the messenger, nor the vehicle that he brings the message on,’’ he says.

But his experiments and strong beliefs have also invited criticism from various quarters from traditional Sikh singers. He has been attacked and ridiculed by other ragis, and also on the Internet chat lines. The biggest objection has come for keeping non-Sikh musicians in his group. But all the criticism does not seem to affect Singh. “Rumblings of all other ‘ragis’ do not matter to me. I must admit I have found very little that I feel is fundamentally wrong with our work,” he says.


Dya Singh CD’s available for sale now at www.ethnicisland.com
Source : www.timesofindia.com
 



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