GSRI 2025 Intern
About Gurbaksh Singh Budhwal
Gurbakhash Singh Budwal is a 17-year-old student from Brampton, Ontario with a deep-rooted passion for Gurmat Sangeet. He has been learning and practicing kirtan since the age of 4, and for the past 6 years has focused on tanti saaj kirtan using the taus, dilruba, and tar shehnai. His initial training was under local tar shehnai/esraj artist Ustad Rattan Singh Ji Bhamrah, and he now continues his learning under Ustad Harbans Singh Ji Ghulla. Gurbakhash is committed to preserving traditional Sikh musical heritage and helping revive the soundscape envisioned by our Gurus. Through the GSRI, he hopes to deepen his raag-based understanding and connect further with the spiritual essence of shabad.
About my project
Raag Therapy as Complementary Intervention For Pediatric Neurodevelopmental and Behavioral Disorders
This paper examines how Raag Asa, Bhairavi, and Todi influence the emotional wellbeing of aging residents in long-term care. Grounded in both Gurbani tradition and contemporary research on music therapy, this project examines whether the emotional attributes commonly associated with each raag indeed resonate with seniors, including those struggling with loneliness, memory loss, or emotional regulation difficulties. Weekly live raag sessions were conducted with traditional instruments such as the dilruba and taus. Residents provided pre- and post-session mood surveys, and staff provided informal feedback. The aim is to determine whether raags such as Asa, attributed with motivation, Bhairavi, attributed with emotional tenderness, and Todi, attributed with depth and spiritual connectedness, can provide measurable or observable changes in emotional state. This project also considers how Gurmat Sangeet, aside from being a cultural or spiritual practice, can be utilized as a healing tool for vulnerable populations especially when shared with intention and compassion.