Jahnavi Harrison and her father Kripamoya kindly came to lead our March kirtan. (You can see them sharing a joke above!). They had spent the previous day at a celebration of the anniversary of Sri Chaitanya the well-known promoter of kirtan, in medieval India. In fact, as Kripamoya explained, we can trace our present knowledge and practise of kirtan directly back to his influence. In between the very sweet and heartfelt kirtans, Jahnavi and Kripamoya talked of Chaitanya's writings and life which explained some of the deeper understanding of the art of kirtan; it's purpose and effects. It was interesting and pleasing to listen to, in fact as soon as it is edited, we'll post a podcast of it here.
And below is a YouTube clip of Jahnavi singing and playing violin at a kirtan in Australia, a few months ago. Her father quipped that her Jewish ancestry shows in her spirited violin improvisations!
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