Primetime in Rainsabaee Keertan

Now a days it is a common thing to see Keertanis wanting to do Keertan during "Primetime" and Sangat also only coming during "Primetime" to listen to Keertan and then leaving. It seems that there are two different Primetimes during Rainsabaee Keertans.

First Primetime

This is usually from 11 pm to 1 am and is when the peak of Sangat is there, and most famous Keertanis are usually doing Keertan to keep the Sangat who comes interested in Keertan. Majority of people see this time as having the most Phal because they enjoy the Keertan more due to Kann Ras, and sometimes due to legitimate Anand of Keertan done by Gurmukhs. While this time might be very Anandmeyee for whatever reasons, it isn't the true Primetime.

True Primetime

This is from around 2 am till bhog of Keertan. This is also Amritvela time and therefore there is varkha of Amrit happening everywhere. This is the time when all the Kache-Ashiq leave and only the Sache-Ashiq are left. Keertan of Sri Asa kee Vaar also starts at this time and so for any serious seeker of Darshan, this helps greatly in keeping up the daily Nitnem. This is the time that is filled with most Phal because Keertanis at this time are not worried about impressing Sangat and are only there because they are serious about Bhagti. Doing Keertan for them is a means to Darshan, not for fame or to show off. This time is also the hardest to sit because by then sleep and fatigue start to annoy you. This is also the time of Bhog of the Keertan, so Ardaas is done, Hukamnama is read, and Degh is given out. This is the most important part of the Rainsabaee Keertan for Gurmukhs because it is filled with the most Laha, therefore this is the only true Primetime.

May Guru Sahib bless us with Sumat to sit through the whole Rainsabaee Keertan.

Preetam Singh

Very well said. The following Pankiti comes to mind

ਪਹਿਲੈ ਪਹਰੈ ਫੁਲੜਾ ਫਲੁ ਭੀ ਪਛਾ ਰਾਤਿ ॥
ਜੋ ਜਾਗੰਨ੍‍ ਿਲਹੰਨਿ ਸੇ ਸਾਈ ਕੰਨੋ ਦਾਤਿ ॥112॥

In the first quarter of the night, the fruit is in the shape of a flower but by the last part of the night, it becomes a fully ripe fruit. The Laaha is there if one sits through the whole of Raen Subaaee Kirtan.

Kulbir Singh

Vaheguru ji ka Khalsa
Vaheguru ji ki Fateh


My inspiration generally sprouts from gurmukhs in bhai sahib bhai randhir singh ji's time that used to sit for 24-48 hours at an end in prostrate position

so I think its important that we push ourselves really hard to sit through the whole time..
Its like exciting and you feel very nice and very uplifted when you sit for a long period of time..

so its definitely worth the pain in the legs to get lahaa of kirtan

I don't know about primetime but I do know wherever there is kirtan it is an excellent and awesome place to be and the best part is degh
Degh at jatha programs is the best degh you can find

so might as well just sit the whole time for lahaa and a plus degh and happy feelings

This is very very true Preetam Singh. No matter who the keertanee, anyone singing har-jas with their heart at Amritvelaa time sounds the most beautiful. Sometimes I feel that when all the kan-rass people (myself included maybe) leave their chaunkrees back to maya, the keertan mandal feels so much purer and anand filled. This is probably just my ego talking. Also, Keertan smagams that base their timings on when divan hall is filled with sarothe versus when they are empty are so sad to see happening. For example, 8pm to 2am are not Raensabayees, they are programs for packed halls of prime time premis. Keertan programs should long enough so every Gursikh who can do Keertan gets a chance to cry to Vaheguru jee, not just the big names.

A true Keertani does not even care about whether they do Keertan or not. They attend smagams regardless and sit in Sangat until the end. They will never bug smagam organisers for time to do Keertan, they will never complain about receiving "prime time" or not. They do Keertan for Guru Sahib, not for haumai.
Sadly, I have noticed that many keertanis are attending smagams more to put on a show then anything else. Once they have had their slot they run off to the langar hall. How many prominent keertanis will be present at the end of a rainsbhai? I can only think of very few.
Very rarely do we see keertanis refuse to do Keertan, so that others can have a chance to do seva instead. We should remember that this is exactly what it is, seva... We do this seva when Guru Sahib wills, not when our haumai need pumping.