'Bhakti Beyond Borders', An American 'Kirtan' Album Gets Nominated For #Grammys2016!

The nomination list of the 58th Grammy awards came as a big news for Mayapur-bred Madi Das.

Bhakti Beyond Borders

The list included the name of Das' album of kirtans - 'Bhakti Beyond Borders' - in the Best New Age Album category. But this is not the first time a kirtan album has made the cut. Way back in 2004, Jai Uttal had bagged a Grammy nomination for his kirtan album 'Mondo Rama'. Just like urban India, the West, it seems, has happily started embracing kirtan by chanting it at yoga studios and week-long workshops.

Speaking to the Times of India after his nomination, Das said, "I grew up in India. I lived in Vrindavan and Mayapur and attended the Hare Krishna gurukul school. I lived in Mayapur for three years, living in a mud hut with a thatched roof. This (kirtan) was the music of my childhood. I wanted to take this and marry it with my Western influences so that a broader audience can enjoy it." The Grammy nomination is certainly going to help him expand his audience base for kirtans.

Kirtan, a booming sound

For the first time in the history of reality shows in India, the performance of kirtan artiste Aditi Munshi has become a major talking point among viewers.Euphoria frontman and judge Palash Sen said, "Aditi, who I call the Queen of Kirtan, is already an inspiration for many youngsters." The 27-year-old Aditi said, "Some 10 odd students, including myself, had specialised in kirtan while doing our Masters at Rabindra Bharati University . Sadly, whenever I told some one about studying kirtan, the reaction wouldn't be too flattering. But today , all that has changed. The 'chhondo' or 'dol' of a kirtan attracts listeners." Someday she hopes to cross Bengal's borders and go pan-national or even global with her kirtans.

Dohar's Kalikaprasad, who is also a mentor of the folk segment of Aditi's show, said, "Kirtan is one of the oldest forms of Bengali music. The balance of lyrics, tune and rhythm in this form creates an endearing appeal. After we introduced kirtan in the reality show, I have started getting calls from youngsters curious to know where they can learn kirtan."

Kirtan samrat Suman Bhattacharya is happy with the revival. "Although a very popular form in our villages, kirtan has unfortunately taken long to reach urban India. Thanks to the reality show, some simple forms of kirtan are getting popular among the masses." According to him, the popularity of kirtan has increased in the West due to two reasons. "Iskcon's contribution in propagating the Vaishnav philosophy has largely helped. At the University level, people take courses to study the musical aesthetics of kirtan. A student of mine did his PhD in music from Texas University where he specialised in kirtan. Now, he teaches kirtan among other disciplines at Yale University ," Bhattacharya said.

American kirtan: "Woodstock without the drugs"

Yet, not everyone in the West hooked onto kirtan is attracted only to its devotional aspect. Some have likened American kirtan events to this generation's "Woodstock without the drugs". Kalikaprasad believes that it is important to see kirtan as an independent form of music. As he explained, "The devotion expressed through kirtan is not limited to worship. In many cases, it extends to romance as well. The images of Krishna and Radha that we see in kirtans are that of icons of love.That perhaps could be the secret behind the gaining popularity of this form."