Kirtan Music

Kirtan is a form of collective praise in song originating in the Vedic tradition in India and practiced in several religions. A kirtan is essentially a call-and-response chant set to music, in which singers either recite or describe legends, sing devotionals to various Indian gods, or examine important spiritual concepts. It is also a type of folk song or performance art, and in both forms, kirtan carries forward generations of the beliefs, ideals, histories, and stories of the people who perform it, both religiously and secularly. In the West, kirtan has become a somewhat popular collective spiritual or healing practice, with various well-known singers including Snatam Kaur, Jai Uttal, and Krishna Das serving as modern proponents of this traditional spiritual practice.