Internal Satisfaction

By Shana Maria Verghis, *‘Your energy must be directed in one place’* - The Pioneer - India; Friday, March 11, 2011

Satinder Sartaaj spends more time in libraries and writing lyrics for songs he sings, inspired by Sufi poets and limiting concerts to a handful. The Punjabi vocalist tells his career choices and decision to keep Bollywood offers at bay were guided by his level of inner satisfaction

Ranjeev and Parminder Singh Sidhu are an Indian couple working at Manchester University’s Department of Spiritual Studies. Recently, the duo spent about 25 days with Hoshiarpur-born Sufi singer Satinder Sartaaj, studying, as Satinder put it, “my state of mind, aura and other things, “when he was touring with his band. Their 100-something pages of research was published in the form of a book, accompanying one of his latest albums, Sai, which comes with a meditation CD.

Sai contains a single of the same name that is in the form of an ardaas or a request to God. Sartaaj is not keen to portray himself as some highly evolved spiritual soul, divinely inspired to write the lyrics to Sai, which are in chaste Punjabi. Nor does he fill your imagination with stories about the song coming to him in, say, a flash of light that left him in a trance or some such thing. The truth is, he was simply crossing in his house to the music room, when the first line, Koi Ali aakey, koi Wali aakhey (Some say Ali, some say Wali...) drifted into his consciousess. “I sing this at the beginning of my performance for blessings to give a good performance. That is all,” he said, keeping it simple.

The words to Sai invoke divine mercy and love, in the Sufi tradition, which Sidhu is a student of. He said, “The Sidhus spent a lot of time asking me questions. They know much that I don’t.” Sartaaj himself has sung from class three, and was drawn to Sufi music. He has an MS in music and PhD in Sufi music. He also has degrees in Urdu and Sanskrit and got a gold medal in Persian language.

For six years, he taught at Punjab University’s, Department of Music. “Most of the time I was in the library reading and studying. I have written about 500 songs.” Singh’s oeuvre covers classical poets like Rumi and Bulleh Shah. But his personal favourite is Babu Rajab Ali (1894-1979), an expert in a loud, stretched out way of singing, without instruments accompanying, called Kavishri.

“Babu Rajab Ali writes about everyday life, explained Sartaaj, “In the style called Bahaatar kilian chind, which is a form of folk poetry that is typically written in 72 stanzas.” He accompanies the instrument with his harmonium. The 31-year-old, who composed his first album in 2002, and found no takers for it till 2009, told us with some good humour that, “Realistically, the taste of the masses was for bhangra and hip-hop. It is not surprising no one promoted my album.”

Nevertheless, he saw attendance at his concerts grow from “50-100 to about 45,000 at a show I had in Kapurthala.” The turning point was a tour in Canada that “gave me exposure overseas and had 60 sold-out shows.” Now better known, he has been asked to act and sing in movies, but prefers to “spend 60-70 per cent of time on riyaaz, studies and family.” He said this ensures “performance does not suffer. If you take too many concerts, you stress your vocal chords and the show will be poor.”

Since his first album Ibadat, he has released two more, taking painstaking attention with the lyrics. “What keeps me going is the internal satisfaction I get. Not commercialism. I do what I feel and don’t go according to popular tastes. This means that I have my own particular kind of audience.”

Sartaaj explained, “It was during my Bachelors of Music, that I read Sufi stuff and decided to do my higher education in the subject. I was inclined that way from my childhood, though I wasn’t singing Sufi music then but other prayer songs, like the shabad kirtan. When I learnt Persian and did my PhD, I did a few mehfils from 2001. I try to maintain some decorum. So we don’t do parties and marriages.” All his poems, he added, “Do have a message. When its not about God, there is a social message. Like saving the trees. Or, I write about female foeticide.” He added that, “One of my songs was inspired by a little girl, picking sticks for firewood whom I had seen during a picnic excursion.”

Before he writes, he does a short meditation, “to get concentration.” He said, “I began this during my PhD, when I was going through many books and earlier had a problem with focussing. It’s also useful when you perform sitting, three-four hours non-stop and need to be attentive, to give your best. Your whole energy must be directed in one place, by attuning body and mind.” He concluded, “When words to something like the ardaas come, it is a gift of God. People say Saraswati aayi hain. It is momentary inspiration. Not a continuous stream. And I try to do something good with it. Sufism to me is something that gives one internal satisfaction. Be it writing or performing. People urged me for years to change my style, but I am happy with it. As for religion, I think that is a private thing.”

[Visit Satinder Sartaaj's website]