If we don’t sing these songs who will?
They can’t stay forever locked in a book!
Find the key, open the door, take a look
Explore, be amazed, walk around
Treasures just waiting to be found!

Working at these shabds day by day is like wearing work clothes, unpacking something here, cleaning up something there, re-arranging, putting some polish on. From the confusion of notes on a page, it’s like putting the house in order so it looks like a song. This week I have been discovering some beautiful compositions in rāga kalyān and forms of the rāga such as shudh kalyān, hameer kalyān and puriā kalyān.

Bhai Baldeep Singh’s concert in Boston was a chance to see rāga kalyān decked out in all its full regalia. The house was not only tidied up, but all the decorations were brought out, like holiday flowers, lights and tinsel, and the dwellers, each note, also dressed in their finest clothes, served a feast to the delighted guests.

The day to day maintenance has to happen, but sometimes it’s a holiday and there are ornaments, treats and gifts that we don’t get to enjoy every day. And after the holiday we go back to work.