Hemkunt Foundation Regional Competition

Bridgewater NJ, 2009

Recently, I was invited to the Bridgewater NJ Gurdwara to participate in the judges panel for the 2009 Hemkunt Foundation Kirtan competition. Pholosophically, I am somewhat ambivalent about Kirtan 'competitions' in general; I believe that there are other ways of motivating young people to take up Gurmat Sangeet. That said, it was a wonderful experience to hear several young Kirtaniyas, singing shabads in Nirdharit Ragas. There is no doubt that many of these young children woudl have not likely learned these compositions if they had not been motivated by the competition.

Setting the competitive aspect aside, and not focusing on who 'won', the Gurmat Sangeet Project is happy to present recordings of the shabads sung at this event. One shabad by Bibi Gurleen Kaur, also part of the Judges panel, is also included.