Concept

As intent-less vapor formed from an ocean lapdoes not belong to a river,a region, yet– so is naad,before being subjected to a belief,in a certain language.Like “forget-fools” we believe,as if we were witness,the creative ineffable One needed to communicate in syllables
we took ages to hone,only to let them decay.
The intent colors.

Bhai Baldeep Singh
2/7/09 8:23 PM

An abstract
What Makes Sound Sacred?
Seminar on "The Power of Sacred Sound"
February 22, 2009

ANĀD believes that our planet earth is an abode of learning and that all regions irrespective of their beliefs, customs, caste, creed, gender or race have produced extraordinary people who have together created what we call our heritage. The whole of South Asia, with its history and achievements over thousands of years and having contributed to the world some of the most important religions, philosophical thought, literature, culture, art and music has not done enough to preserve its heritage for various reasons.

The year 1947 was not just the year when South Asia was partitioned, when millions of innocent people were massacred but, with the change in the political system, it saw a disruption in the way South Asians had lived for centuries. The Muslim rebābi bards, Hindu ascetics, nirmalā, namdhāri and udāsi - all sang gurbāni since the times of Guru Nānak (1469-1539) and did so for 343 years in the Golden Temple since its inception in 1604 AD. Irrespective of their local beliefs, people of diverse religions and regions, languages and cultures, celebrated their shared heritage. There were problems, but never so large as to disrupt the flow of the essence and the knowledge from one generation to the next that had been the practice all over the world since time immemorial. It was for the first time in 1947 that migration was enforced by instilling fear. The message of hatred was spread and people were instigated to fight with each other leading to the largest migration in human history. Regions such as Sultānpur Lodhi, Amritsar, Hoshiārpur, Batalā, Taran Tarān, Multan and Lahore, which were traditional abodes of knowledge producing great masters in every generation, were suddenly rendered barren.

"I am tired of reading Vedas and Qurans;

My forehead is worn by constant prostrations in the mosque.

But the Lord is neither at Hindu shrines nor at Mecca,

Whoever found him, found him in the light of his own beauty."

Waris Shah (1730 -1790)

Amongst all the places of rebābi, gur-sikh kīrtan and classical music, Sultānpur Lodhi was perhaps the preeminent one. The setting up of the ANĀD Conservatory in Qilā Sarāi will revive this town and its traditions as one of the most important centers of learning.
The inspiration of ANĀD stems from gurbāni and the vision of Guru Nānak, and is inspired by the great sages and reformers who have together enriched and influenced human values and conduct particularly in South Asia. Gurbāni, authored by 36 authors drawn from various regions in South Asia, at once connects us with semantics, reforms, criticism, compassion, love for humanity, acceptance of diversity, music, universality and power of languages. Thus, ANĀD Conservatory will be different from other academies in South Asia that only teach music. ANĀD will attempt to rediscover the image of conserving culture through its most humanistic vision of universal man.

It was when Bābar invaded Hindustān that Guru Nānak laments the Creator Being in his bābarvāni¹ of ‘frightening Hindustān²’. Where is that Hindustān? Can that chunk of ‘land beyond the Indus’ (Sindhu) be fractured? Can its people, whose institutional memory goes back at least a few thousand years, be so ruthlessly divided? The idea of unity of human kind (mānas ki jāt sabai ekai) has fascinated and hence ‘ruled’ and guided the minds of people in this region. This great idea needs to be spread at the global level to explore the possibilities of harmony, tolerance and peace in the world through respect for diversity.

ANĀD Conservatory’s vision includes many knowledge disciplines:

1. Arts and Cultural Studies (tangible and intangible art forms),

2. Faculty of Scriptures (where all religious scriptures, sacred writings in prose or poetry, in any language, in any region, at any point of time in history and by a person of any color or race, is studied with reverence),

3. Scholastic streams that will research, document and restore various forms of our collective human wealth remembering its bearers in order to inspire new exponents among others.

ANĀD aims to relive and reclaim the essence and the legacy of all godly men and women who have contributed to the unique humanistic vision which constitutes the very identity of Sultānpur Lodhi. ANĀD’s endeavour is to ensure that this vision and the ideas embedded in this vision spread world-wide, continue to flourish and further evolve into the future and that our coming generations are able to enjoy the wisdom and the heritage bequeathed to us by great souls gone by and indeed to build on it.

ANĀD has chosen to revive an important part of this great human heritage, which has its roots in this small forgotten town and its surrounding regions from where Guru Nānak chose to begin his journey, where the tradition of gur-kīrtan commenced and where logic has been taught since as far as the memory and scriptures go. In the place where Guru Nānak taught that there is “no Hindu and no Mussalman” we dream to relive the message of universal brotherhood and to build on the knowledge and wisdom, which is our heritage.

This idea of unity in diversity has evolved constantly over time: there was time when Vaishnav, Sakat, Shaiva and other folk beliefs, then Jain, Budhist, Sufi, Islam, Sikh and Christian beliefs all added and contributed to the tapestry of South Asia. Our endeavour is to evolve and continue to weave this rich tapestry¹.

HORse club