Keerthana

Kirtana (Sanskrit: कीर्तन; IAST: Kīrtana), also rendered as Kiirtan, Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration, shared recitation, or devotional singing, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. A person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara (or kirtankar, कीर्तनकार). With roots in the Vedic anukirtana tradition, a kirtan is a call-and-response or antiphonal style song or chant, set to music, wherein multiple singers recite the names of a deity, describe a legend, express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual ideas. It may include dancing or direct expression of bhavas (emotive states) by the singer. Many kirtan performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant, or reply to the call of the singer. A kirtan performance includes an accompaniment of regionally popular musical instruments, especially Indian instruments like the Indian harmonium, the veena, sitar, or ektara (strings), the tabla (one-sided drums), the mrdanga or pakhawaj (two-sided drum), flute (woodwinds), and karatalas or talas (cymbals). It is a major practice in Hinduism, Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions, and some forms of Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. Kirtan is sometimes accompanied by story-telling and acting. Texts typically cover religious, mythological or social subjects.