Kirtan

Street Kirtan w 13 HANDS

Kirtan is a traditional form of call and response music that developed in India where a Kirtan artist or devotional singer (called a Kirtankar – one who leads kirtan) shares Sanskrirt (ancient language of India) chants, mantras and prayers in a devotional offering that allows the participants the ability to chant back and forth with the kirtankar.  This exchange between everyone in the room is a powerful, uniting force of music, sound, love, celebration and devotion to one another, humanity, the earth and provides a feeling of unification and blissed-out relaxation; like if at a Pink Floyd experience or Radiohead….but completely different.

The chants and intentions behind the chants and mantras are cross denominational, meaning “Kirtan-ing” breaks down boundaries between these beliefs with no adverse effect on them; in fact many times, it strengthens them.  So if you chant to Ganesha to help you with creating space for change in your life by removing obstacles or people or situations that are in the way and think of Jesus at the same time… then it’s all good…it really is.   Only an individual’s ideas and fears get in the way of experiencing the truth behind a kirtan experience…and that is LOVE…for everything and everyone in your life when you’re done with a typical 2-3 hour long kirtan event.

Kirtan usually involves traditional Indian instrumentation such as Harmonium (originally Middle-Eastern in origin, then off to England for a while…. who then brought it to India during their occupation and that was it….India just took the Harmonium and branded it from there) Tabla, Sitar, Dohl, Bansuri Flute and others.   Today Kirtan has evolved in the West to include a variety of modern and other cultural and ethnic instruments to keep innovating sonically and spiritually within the form.  The essence and power of the experience is about the repetition of the mantra in the sanskrit language.  A typical chant can go on for 8-15 minutes. This repetition of the sound and the sanskrit language over and over again, back and forth, hearing it, absorbing it and chanting it together in a roomful of people is what makes the experience a very deep, relaxing, healing, mesmerizing and joyful experience.

Just try it, you might just like it……. like when your momma tried to get you to try that vegetable you were resistant of eating all those years ago.  Bon Appetit