Although Kirtan has a long and illustrious history and is widely accepted by listeners, it no longer holds the same significance it once did.  In order to recover, re-practice, preserve, and advance kirtan songs, the Bhaktivedanta Research Center and the Debu’s Darbar have jointly launched a long-term research and documentation program.  A discussion session was organized at Gita Bhavan, the library of the Bhaktivedanta Research Center, as the first move.  The title was “Kirtan: An Integral Part of Bengali Tradition”. 

Prof. Dr. Kankana Mitra (Bengali Song-Kirtan, Rabindra Bharati University), Prof. Biswajit Roy (Visva Bharati University), and eminent author and journalist Mr. Shankarlal Bhattacharya graced the occasion.  The speakers spoke about Kirtan’s musical, literary, and societal impacts.

Eminent music director and composer Debojyoti Mishra was present as the chief guest on this day.  All students and general people interested in Kirtan also participated in this conference.

“Sri Chaitanya once helped Kirtan music gain popularity in undivided Bengal.  In Bengal’s towns and villages, kirtan groups were founded.  In order to keep up with contemporary music, kirtan is progressively losing its appeal today.  The Bhakti Vedanta Research Center has chosen to construct a Kirtan Research Academy in an effort to revive the illustrious history and glory of Bengali traditional Kirtan music.  Additionally, a Kirtan archive will be created.  Kirtan-related conferences, performances, workshops, etc. will be scheduled throughout the year at various periods.  A documentary is going to get started” said Dr. Sumanta Rudra, Dean of the Bhakti Vedanta Research Center in Kolkata.

There is evidence of Lord Krishna’s music and writings in Bengal dating back to the twelfth century, according to Devalina Ghosh, prominent kirtan specialist and principal of the Debu’s Darbar.  Kavi Jayadeva served as King Lakshmana Sen’s court poet in the latter half of the 12th century. He wrote the Sanskrit poetry “Gita Govinda” on Radha Krishna’s love affair. Later, numerous well-known Radha-Krishna Padas (lyrical poems) in the prehistoric language Maithili were written by the Maithili poet Vidyapati. These old kirtan songs by Jayadeva, Vidyapati, and many other ancient poets became extremely popular during the bhakti movement of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. ‘Sankirtana’ was a tool employed by Sri Chaitanya Dev to spread his ‘Gaudia Vaishnavism’ doctrine.  After that, the fervor of “Kirtan” began to flood Bengal.

Their objectives include both the preservation and reform of the traditional Bengali Kirtan style as well as reviving the popularity of Kirtan songs.  This program’s goal is to properly promote the teachings of Kirtan singing and Srikhol.  On the one hand, the practical side of Kirtan will be preserved through documentaries, audio, videography, notation, etc., in addition to the theoretical texts or ancient materials relating to Kirtan that will be saved and kept in the library for research.

A wonderful initiative!!

Video link of the event- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vzf5jyPxoSo

Priyanka Dutta