Explained: Harmonium in Sikh religious tradition, and why Akal Takht wants it removed from Golden Temple

What is behind the push by Sikh bodies to ensure that kirtan, or the singing of Gurbani, is only accompanied by traditional instruments, and why is the harmonium at the receiving end?

History of harmonium

Born in Europe in the 1700s, the harmonium went through many design tweaks to become the instrument that we know today.

The first prototype is believed to have been built by Christian Gottlieb Kratzenstein, a professor of physiology at the University of Copenhagen. Alterations followed, and in 1842, a French inventor named Alexandre Debain patented his design and called it ‘Harmonium’. This was a foot-pumped harmonium. It was brought to India by Western traders or missionaries in the latter part of the 19th century.

According to the website of the Union Ministry of Culture, the Indian hand-pumped harmonium was designed by Dwarkanath Ghose in Kolkata in 1875.

Drone knobs were added to the instrument to produce harmonies in Indian classical music. A scale-changing technique was also added.

By 1915, India had become the leading manufacturer of the harmonium, and the instrument had become an integral part of Indian music. The harmoniums of today can play up to 12 Surs and 22 Shrutis.

However, a section of Indian classical music scholars continued to note that the harmonium is not able to perform all Raagas properly and strike all classical notes with perfection.

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At the Golden Temple

It is unclear when exactly the harmonium entered the Golden Temple. It is believed that it has been there since the beginning of the 20th century.

A painting of a congregation at the Harmandir Sahib by William Carpenter from 1854 shows kirtan being performed with only the string instrument rabab and a tabla-like instrument called jori — there is no harmonium.

However, it is difficult now to picture a Gurmat Sangeet performance without a harmonium.

In fact, out of the 105 Raagi jathas (choir) hired by the SGPC, 100 perform kirtans with harmoniums. Five jathas with knowledge of traditional string instruments or Tanti Saaz were added only in recent years.

“It is said the harmonium was played at Harmandir Sahib for the first time in 1901 or 1902. There are kirtani jathas that use both the harmonium and string instruments, and come up with very good performances,” Dr Alankar Singh, a Punjabi University, Patiala, professor who has specialised in Hindustani classical music and Gurmat Sangeet, said.

Opposition by Sikh scholars

A group of scholars of Gurmat Sangeet, the Sikh tradition that has parallels with Indian classical music, believes that the harmonium was “imposed” by the British.

They believe that the harmonium allows Raagis to hide their shortcomings, while Tanti Saaz require more discipline. These scholars argue that the harmonium allows less talented Gurbani singers to become Raagis at the Harmandir Sahib, which in turn impacts the quality of kirtan.

Over the years, several Sikh Raagis have also faced criticism for trying to introduce an element of entertainment to what Sikh clergy consider a strictly spiritual discipline. The SGPC had even warned Raagis against drifting away from the Raagas mentioned in Guru Granth Sahib while doing Shabad Kirtan. In the Guru Granth Sahib, every Shabad is tied to a Raag.

But it is not easy to replace

The SGPC will not find it easy to phase out an instrument that has been part of the Gurmat Sangeet ecosystem for over a century. There are many generations of Sikhs who have grown up listening to the harmonium as part of the Gurmat Sangeet. There are Raagis who have trained for years in the discipline. Harmonium and tabla training classes are a norm at most gurdwaras in India and abroad.

Several Sikh scholars opposed to the Akal Takht’s call think that it should focus on the revival of string instruments instead of removing the harmonium. The other side, however, argues that it is the dominance of harmonium that marginalised Tanti Saaz in the first place. They also point to how the Namdhari sect shunned the harmonium in the 1970s, and moved completely to the use of string instruments.

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