Learning from the Dilruba

I was so blessed that a friend brought this Dilruba for me all the way from India. Dilruba means heart stealer, and is a smaller version of the Taus since the Singhs around the time of Guru Gobind Singh Ji needed an instrument that was practical for carrying during times of battle. Over the last couple of days I’ve gotten used to holding it and now I’m learning how to tune it. Luckily the dilruba has quite a bit more online resources than the rabab and I found a teacher in the lower mainland. 

I have learned a lot from the dilruba in the short week I have spent with it and it has been a humbling experience. Our traditional instruments are indeed a lot more difficult to learn than the harmonium. Tuning the instrument itself takes a lot of time because you have to tune it by ear, and the baseline knowledge of raags needs to be there. Yet the dilruba has the ability to convey emotion in a way that is simply not possible with the harmonium. It teaches patience, discipline, and also connection to shabad. There is something different about playing a dilruba than a harmonium- when the instrument sits on the shoulder and the strings are vibrated, the vibration moves through the body. Maybe I am months or years from playing a shabad (depending on how much time I have to practice), but I have realized that I need to let go of my sense of urgency because things happen in the time they need to. My interest and love for Kirtan is certainly only growing over time, and even if I wait to start until I have more time to devote, that will be ok. Patience was something I needed to work on anyways. The dilruba has also taught me that there is a difference between simply music and love for Gurbani. As I advance in music, I want to make sure I don’t lose my focus on the shabad and using music to convey the feeling of a shabad and as a part of the connection to God rather than being the focus on the music itself. 

Lastly, I think the process of learning the dilruba has been along the theme of acceptance that I have been trying to cultivate in the last couple of days. Rather than fighting with the idea that we are tired, or emotional, or stressed we should accept where we are and work with it. When we are hungry, we eat rather than saying we should not be hungry so the same idea should apply. The resistance and pretending we aren’t tired, or stressed, etc. is a lot more harmful than acceptance and working with where we are. I think it creates a lot frustration and discouragement for example if I was to expect myself to suddenly become proficient in the dilruba. Similarly, we should work on accepting where we are in our journey, our healing, our path. Healing because we are all healing from pains that maybe we never realized existed but are pointed out in Gurbani, and our separation from the path that joins us to God. Recognizing our strengths, our goals, and where we are in the scheme of where we are going is more beneficial than becoming paralyzed in the idea that you can never make it because the first step seems too hard. We never win making a comparison that someone else is... the journey never started on this lifetime in the first place. The point is for us to make our progress now with where we are. One of the aunty Jis said a big challenge for young people (and even older people that lose flexibility) being able to go to the Gurdwara is being able to sit. It highlighted the idea that basic skills are a foundation to being able to succeed. Going back to the basics of our life serves us well, and as I learn and develop my foundation with the dilruba I will share what I learn.