march 2026
happy march & happy ਚੇਤ my friends!
welcome to the march khajana — i have just a few things to share this time.
to start, of course, here is your monthly playlist! enjoy the basant vibes as we welcome spring (whenever she decides to come and stick around) :)
this month’s artwork wasn’t grounded in one specific shabad, but was inspired by many shabads and included a few different gurbani metaphors. it was inspired by one shabad at first, so here is the sikhi to the max link to read the whole shabad, and also a screenshot below of the specific lines i referenced in the letter.
lastly, here is the glossary. i’ll include some links to shabads that illustrated the metaphors i explained in the letter as they come up in the glossary. hope this helps, and please reach out if you have any questions or want to chat about anything. i always love hearing feedback from you all, drop me even a quick message and you’ll make my day!
ਚੇਤ / chet (chae-th) - the first month of the sikh calendar
ਨਾਨਕਸ਼ਾਹੀ / nanakshahi calendar (naa-nak-shaa-hee) - the sikh calendar composed of twelve months and starting on or around march 14
ਖੋਜ / khoj (kho-j) - research, search
ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ / gurbani - sikh scripture
ਰਾਗ / raag (raa-g) -- a south asian musical structure. gurbani uses this structure; the whole guru granth sahib ji has 31 raags in it
ਗੁਰਬਾਣੀ ਸ਼ਬਦ / gurbani shabad - very commonly used in these letters. this is a verse from sikh scripture, referred to in shorthand as shabads
ਰਾਮ ਨਾਮ / raam-naam - the name of the divine, a word for what we are meditating on as sikhs. when we remember the name of the divine (and the true beauty and depth that comes with it) truly and wholly, we are liberated. this is no easy feat, and it is the ultimate thing we as sikhs strive for.
ਅੰਬ / amb - mango tree
ਸਿੰਮਲ ਰੁਖ / simmal tree (sim-mal) - “bombax ceiba,” known as a red cotton tree
ਕੋਇਲ / koel (ko-i-el) - a diverse species of songbird, also referred to as a cuckoo. there are a number of south asian species of koels, and so i picked one that seemed to live more in punjab, however another commonly referenced shabad about a koel speaks of a black koel.
ਮ੍ਰਿਗ / (mri-g) - deer
ਭਵਰ / (bhav-r) - bumble bee
ਫੁਲ / (phu-l) flowers, also can be fruit (spelled ਫਲ in the main shabad)
