For the first time in the UK, Kirtan has been included in the formal music examination system. From Friday onwards, students can study Sikh Sacred Music through an established curriculum and reference texts.
Harjinder Lallie, a Birmingham-based musician and academic, has worked for years to include kirtan alongside Western classical music and preserve these traditional musical forms for future generations.
Kirtan, which consists of singing hymns or verses from the holy ‘Guru Granth Sahib’, plays a central role in Sikh religious practice and devotion.
The London-based Music Teachers’ Board (MTB) will incorporate Sikh Sacred Music into its internationally recognised eight-grade exam structure. Students achieving Grades 6-8 will earn UCAS points, contributing to university admission.
“Our goal throughout all this is to ensure that we preserve our heritage for generations to come,” said Dr. Lallie, an instructor at the Gurmat Sangeet Academy.
“It’s taken 10 hard years of work to get the curriculum accepted and launched. It is deeply humbling but still fills me with pride that all that hard work has now paid off. That a Western audience is paying a lot of attention to what we have done and, most importantly, can appreciate that Sikh kirtan is no less than say the violin, piano or any other Western contemporary music genre,” he said.
