FATHOMLESS WORDS OF BABA SHAIKH FARID SET TO MUSIC BY JAGJIT SINGH

Originally posted on 23/01/2011 :

Within a space of two days, we lost two men of substance. Why it hit me hard was that one of them was barely one year senior to me. Death, the natural culmination of life seemed perilously close, and I started looking for words to soothe myself.

In my shelf I found a CD of Shaikh Farid’s ‘baani’ sung by Jagjit Singh and Neelam Sahni. And then I discovered that this ‘shabad’ has also been put on the Internet. If you click on the link below, you will be able to get the complete ‘shabad’ in Punjabi, roman English and a translation of the ‘slokas’ in English. The opening line is

“Budhha hoya shaikh Farid, kamban lagi deh…”

I invite you to listen to it and read the words. They go deep into the soul and leave a very soothing touch. The language of this ‘baani’ is Punjabi, as it was spoken during those days.

  1. Dev says:

    Brother Surjit,

    SUPERB, INDEED!! Thanks for sharing such a goldmine of shabadsand spiritual music.

    Love,

    KD

  2. Kulbir Suri says:

    Enjoyed it

  3. Major General Paul says:

    Thanks a lot. Very thoughtful of you.

  4. Brig Mullick says:

    THANK YOU SIR,
    IT IS GREAT TO BE ON YOUR MAILING LIST.THIS PIECE TOUCHED MY HEART.

  5. Bajaj says:

    Not barely one year but a year and a half.

    That is trivia.

    You and I are cranes on the river bank playing joyfully,

    not knowing when the Hawk shall strike.

    Beautifully sung and so soul sterring.

  6. Kuldeep Sharma says:

    For long time , all those who have followed ”SURJITIONICS ‘ , would agree with me that this piece is way off the earlier ones.
    Baba Farid and Bulle Shah are relevent ,only to the extent of assuaging the confusion and sadness that may come with the realisation that time has advanced.

    But remember Ghalib: Maut Ka ek Din Muayen Hai

    Neend Raat Bhar Kyon NahiN Aati

    And then, we do not go without enjoying a lot

    Mere Maula Ki Azmat To Dekheye

    Barhana Paida Huae , Malboos Dafnae Gaye

    Omar Khayyam is more relevent now:

    The Moving Finger Writes, And Having Writ Moves on,

    Neither All Thy Piety , Nor Wit

    Can Lure it

    To Cancel Half A line Of

    OR

    Unborh Tomorrow And dead Yesterday,

    Why Fret About Them

    If Today Be Sweet

    Please put on the famous Ghazal of Malika Pukhraj:

    Abhi To meiN Jawan HooN

    Yeh kali kali badliyaN

    Ufk Pe Ho Gayi AayaN

    Hai Ik Hajoome MaikashaN

    Sue maikada RawaN

    KahaN Chala Hai Sakiya

    Idhar to dekh Idhar to Aa

    Utha Saboo , saboo Utha

    Saboo Utha Ke Pyala Bhar

    Pyala bhar ke De Idhar……..

    …………………………

    Pilaye ja Pilaye Ja

    Abhi To MaiN Jawan hooN……

    …………………………….

  7. Col. Alok Asthana says:

    Thanks.
    Grateful for this.

  8. Srikanth Joshi says:

    Thanks for sharing that link…..I really liked it…..
    Though I have been reading you mails….I am sorry for being irregular in replying to them.

  9. yoginder sharma says:

    Thanks,Surjit, for youe priceless fwds.

    Baba Farid’s Shabads are so ‘touching’ and profound.

    Show me a way to capture it on my Disc and play it as and when I wish. The Sikh Aarti you had sent earlier I possess-this one eludes. You know that I am a self-educated ‘dud’ in such matters-so send an Idiot’s guide.

    On IESM- INDERJIT & SATBIR are at war again: Irreconcilable old Sardars! We exhausted our counsels; so my conscience is clear. ‘The world is what it is’ and only the deluded believe that they can recreate or change it.

    Value your sentiments on RISKY’s passing on- sadly he has jumped the Q !

    • Surjit says:

      Bhai Sahib,

      Thanks.

      You can move all the mails which you wish to preserve to one of the labels and then retrieve them when you need. Or alternatively, you can create ‘shortcuts’ I think if you call some one from the CDM he will give you the steps.

      I have found a man here in Punjab Infotech who comes to me once in a fortnight and ‘updates, me. I think it is good to take on a ‘guru’ it saves a lot of time, and one can get more out of the same system.

      I have stopped worrying my little head on the quibbles in Delhi. The government has made a mess of the whole thing. And the ‘solution’ identified by our friends is impractical. This impasse is likely unlikely to be solved during my lifetime. Hence I have decided to turn to the likes of Ghalib, Sheikh Farid and Kabir. I like the couplet,

      “Fikr-e-duniyaN meiN sar khapata hooN

      MaiN kahaaN, aur yeh vabaal lahaaN! ”

      (Please not that the capital N is silent, but adds a nasal sound. ‘vabaal’ means a complex societal issue )

      I love Raj Kadyan. Satbir is related to me. Renjen is a dear friend. Col Inderjit is a well meaning soldier. But their problem is ego. They are egotistic to the point of being megalomaniacs. They believe they have the power to bring the government down to their knees and ‘negotiate’ with them.While wishing them all the very best, I have chosen to shift to Chandigarh, and live ‘far from the madding crowd’

      With best wishes,

      Surjit

  10. Surindar Singh says:

    Thanks It was lovely listening to Jagjit and Neelam

    Our family had known Neelam and her parents It is pity that Neelam
    had sad life and death

  11. Anil Heble says:

    Thank you, Sir, for sharing this beautiful piece.

    It is as appropriate as it is touching.

    I have learnt so much from you and haven’t even met you yet. Please keep them coming

  12. Harbhajan Singh says:

    Thank you very much for the Kabir Saloks and so many other valuable material you keep sending. Appreciate and marvel at the immense Bhandar of knowledge you have.

  13. Neena Singh says:

    how profound and how true!
    I was looking for Farid’s poetry book yesterday at Pb Book Store but the print was quite bad and today I get this from you!

  14. Gurdayal Singh says:

    Thanks. Please keep on sending such soul touching words. They are so apt for people at our age.

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