SOME FAMOUS PAATTH BARIS

In some places Kirtan is practiced for many hours throughout the day. Some of those places are as follows:

MAYAPUR: It is a very holy and sacred place which is located on the banks of Ganges river.Mayapur dham is one of the nine islands of Nabadweep.Lord Krishna devotees considered this place as pious as Mathura and Vrindaban.In Mayapur temple Kirtan is practised throughout the day.The chants of "Hare Krishna, Hare Ram........" reverberates the air of this place with devotees dancing and singing in ecstasy. Being an important religious center Mayapur has many temples dedicated to different deities.However, the most important temple is ISKON temple which has the deity of Lord Krishna and Radha with eight gopis.

Picture Courtesy:Google Image

ISKON ( International Society for Krishna Consciousness) was established in Mayapur in 1970s.The temple is also known as Sri Chaitanya Chandrodaya Temple as Nabadweep was the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the place adjacent to Mayapur.The headquarters though situated in Mayapur but it has its branch in Kolkata also.

Picture Courtesy:Google Image

NABADWIP: It is another holy place situated on the western bank of the Bhagirathi river.The name Nabadwip derives from "Nine Islands" in Bengal.They are namely Antardwip, Simantadwip, Rudradwip, Madhyadwip, Godrumdwip, Ritudwip, Jahnudwip, Modadrumdwip, and Koladwip.The great Vaishnav saint,social reformer and an important figure of the Bhakti movement, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born here.Though many temples are situated here but the important temple is the Chaitanya Math were Chaitanya Mahaprabhu along with Lord Krishna was worshipped.People of Gaudiya Vaishnav beliefs Chaitanya Mahaprabhu as the human figure of Lord Krishna.Kirtan songs and paatths are practised here all day long but some special type of Kirtan is done on "Gaur Purnima."


                                               
Picture Courtesy:Google Image
     

Picture Courtesy:Google Image




Some other temples in various district of Bengal where Kirtan songs and Kirtan Paatth (stories related to Lord Krishna) is praticed throughout the day are as follows.

1) COOCHBEHAR PAATTH BARI: This temple is situated in Coochbehar, a district of Bengal. Coochbehar is situated on the south foothills of Himalaya.Sankar deb and Madhab deb established this temple. In this temple Lord Krishna is worshipped by singing Kirtan everyday.

2) MADANMOHAN PAATTH BARI:  This temple is situated in Bishnupur. Bishnupur is situated in Bankura district of Bengal.Sri Nibas Acharya and Bir Hambir established this temple of MadanMohan(the other name of Lord Krishna). Here Kirtan paatths and songs are practiced but a special Kirtan programme is held in the day of "Raas Purnima."

3) NABAGRAM PAATTH BARI: This temple is situated in Nabagram. Nabagram is a village of Jamalpur block situated in Bardhaman district of Bengal. Shyamdas Acharya established the temple of Nabagram. Lord Krishna is worshipped here with Kirtan songs and paatths.

4) SHYAM TEMPLE: This temple is situated in the Khardah area. Khardah is situated in the district of North 24 Parganas of Bengal. Nitiya Nanda Pandit, BirChandra Pandit and Jahanabi Debi established this temple.Shyam (the other name of Krishna) is worshipped here everyday by singing Kirtan.

5) BORANAGAR PAATTH BARI: This temple is situated in Boranagar. Boranagar is situated in outskirts of  Kolkata in Bengal district on the bank of Hoogly river. Sil Bhagawat Acharya established the temple of Boranagar. Krishna and Radha here worshipped everyday with Kirtan, but mainly the Kirtan paatths.
                          Apart from this places Kirtan is practised in East and West Medinipore also.

Interview of Mr. Nimai Das

References:
1) Banglar Kirtan o Kirtania - Dr. Hariprasad Mukherjee
2)www.Wikipedia.org
3)Interview of Kirtan practitioner and member of Gauriya Vaishnav, Mr. Nimai Das

KIRTAN OF VARIOUS COMMUNITIES

Kirtan was a way to sing praise to God through chanting slokhs and Mantras of different Gods and Goddess.Kirtan is a song of devotion. It sings to the divine. Kirtan is a merging of music, mantra and meditation that guides us to the "Kingdom of God within".Kirtan is the way to praise the gods and goddess and to spread their stories to all devotees. Various people of various communities pleased their Gods and Goddess through Kirtan. Chanting different Sanskrit sloks and sloks of Bhagavad Gita is also considered as Kirtan.Hari Kirtan which sang for Lord Krishna is the main form. But other communities now practice Kirtan. Below are some types of Kirtan which are individually sang by Kirtan Scholar Mr. Amal Kr. Paul.

CHANDI KIRTAN: The first form of Kirtan is Chandi Kirtan, which sung for Goddess Chandi. Birendra Kishore Bhadra was popularly known for Chandi Kirtan which he sung on Mahalaya.Devotees of Maa Chandi practised this form of Kirtan.

                                           

                                      

KALI KIRTAN: The next form of Kirtan is Kali Kirtan. Kali Kirtan is mainly done by the devotees of Goddess Kali. Kali Kirtan nowadays known as Shyama Sangeet. Ramprasad Sen was popular for Shyama Kirtan or Shyama Sangeet.

                               

DURGA & SHIV KIRTAN: Kirtan which is done for Goddess Durga is known as Durga Stuti or Durga Kirtan.Durga Stuti is composed of powerful verses in praise of Durga Maa. Vidhi Narendra Chanchal is popular for Durga Kirtan. Devotees of Durga Community sung this type of Kirtan.

                               Shiv Kirtan is based on Shiva. Shiv Kirtan is sung by the Shaiva Community.Santanu Bhattacharya is known for Shiv Kirtan.

                                         

                                         

MUSLIM KIRTAN: Kirtan practised by Muslim Community to praise Allah and Rahim is known as Muslim Kirtan.Muslim Kirtan also known as Gazals.Content of Muslim Kirtan was based on Allah.

Mohammad Hossain is popular Muslim Kirtan Singer.

                                       

CHRISTIAN KIRTAN:Kirtan which is practised by Christian Commmunity is known as Christian Kirtan. Devotees of Jesus use to sung Christian Kirtan.The content of Christian Kirtan is based on  the life of Lord Jesus and his mother. Maharaj of Ramkrishna Mission being a Hindu composed Christian Kirtan. Krishna Das is popular for Christian Kirtan.

                                          

                                      

References:

1)Padabali Kirtaner Itihash - Swami Praganananda

2)Interview of Mr. Amal Kr. Paul

3)www. kirtan ebook.com

                                       

                                     

                                       

SRI CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Hindu monk and social reformer from 16th century India. He was born in a Bengali Brahmin family in Nabadwip, a town in the district of Nadia in Bengal. According to "Chaitanya Charitramrita" Mahaprabhu was born on 18th February, 1486 (English) and 23rd Phalgun, 1407 (Bengali) at the time of lunar eclipse. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna himself. Chaitanya Deb was the second son of Jagannath Misra, a poor brahmin of the Vedic order and his mother Saci Devi a housewife.Both of them were the decended of a Brahmin stock residing originally in Sreehatta , now known as Sylhet in Bangladesh.

Picture Courtesy: Own

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the name given by devotees of him. His maternal grandfather Pandit Nilambar Chakravorty, a renowned astrologer foretold that he will be a great personage and so give him the name 'Vishvambhar'. He is sometimes referred to as "Nimai" due to his born being under a Neem tree. As Chaitanya Deb was considered as the Supreme personality of Lord Krishna , he is referred to as "Gaura", meaning combination of Govinda (Gau) and Radha (Ra).

Interview of Kirtan Scholar Mr.Amal Kr. Paul

As Chaitanya Mahaprabhu born in a Brahmin family at a very small age he became Sanyasi. After became Sanyasi he left Nabadwip and started resides in Puri. There he met a great Pandit named Sarvabhauma Pandit. Initially Sarvabhauma Pandit ignored Chaitanya Deb but after an incident Sarvabhauma Pandit turned out to be the follower of Mahaprabhu and the best Vaishnavas of the time. The incident is described by Mr. Amal kr. Paul in the below video clip.

Interview of Mr. Amal Kr. Paul

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu united in himself two aspects, the ecstatic devotee of Krishna and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Radha. Gauriya Vaishnavas considers Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to be Lord Krishna himself but in a covered form.Chaitanya journeyed throughout India for several years after became Sanyas and finally started resides in Puri. He stayed in Puri for 24 years. At that time he promotes Kirtan. Mahaprabhu throughout his life chants the Krishna mantra "Hare Krishna Hare Ram" which he transfered into a song for all, which today become popular as Kirtan song. 

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu brings a revolution in Kirtan. Mahaprabhu promoted the community- style devotional worship of Krishna with Kirtan. He makes the words of the song simple and spread Kirtan in his own way. This Kirtan now known as Chaitanya Kirtan. Earlier Kirtan song were composed in Brajabuli and Mathuri languages.But in Post era of Chaitanya Kirtan songs consist of simple Sanskrit and Bengali words. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu also popularised Leela Kirtan which previously not so practised.Mahaprabhu composed the "Siksastakam" (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was the founder of Achintya Bheda Abheda , the sub school of Vedanta philosophy. He is also the founder of Gauriya Vaisnava and so venerated by followers of Gauriya Vaishnava.

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu plays a significant role in bringing a revolution in Vaishnav community and in Kirtan songs.Thus, Mahaprabhu is attributed as "Renaissance in Bengal". Devotees of Chaitanya Deb considered him as the avatar of Lord Krishna and state the 16th century (Chaitanya Era) as the beginning of Modernism in Bengal.

References:

1)www.kirtan-chaitanya.com

2)Banglar Kirtan o Kirtania - Dr. Hariprasad Mukherjee

3)Interview of Kirtan Scholar Mr. Amal Kr.Paul