Post by Ekantin on Jun 11, 2022 18:51:40 GMT -6
Radhe Radhe!
I've been exploring YouTube for nice Krishna bhajans and especially bhajans in praise of Radha as I find that more endearing and attractive. I'm not so keen on 'professional' singers such as Anup Jalota, Jagjit Singh, etc. Although they have beautiful voices and I listen to their bhajans on occasion, I find it more satisfying when the singer is a genuine Krishna bhakta and dedicates themself to singing almost exclusively Krishna bhajans.
What strikes me is the language barrier between Caitanya Vaishnavism and other strands of Vrindavan Vaishnavism; while there is much virtue in studying and Bengali to understand the language and texts that Mahaprabhu and His parishads spoke (and I understand that senior figures such as Prankrishna das Babaji encourage this), I can't help but feel that the 'mission' would spread much faster and easier if bhajans were sung in Hindi and thus become familiar to the majority of Indians. Besides that, there appear to be only a few traditionalists who sing bhajans publicly or regularly enough for them to become known, and popular singers among the traditionalists are even fewer.
We all know that prominent Gaudiya padakartas have composed beautiful songs through the centuries, so much so that their song lyrics can even be used in debates to prove doctrinal points, but what about the simple types of bhajans that have simply lyrics that are easy to follow and send their listeners into ecstasies?
In any case, I thought I'd compile a list here of the main bhajan singers out there so that it brings pleasure to the devotees here. There are of course a number of popular IGM singers coming up in the next generation such as Jahnavi Jivan, Acyuta Gopi, Gaura Vani and Mayapuris whose music can be somewhat eclectic with Western elements, but I thought I'd keep this traditional in terms of style.
Gaudiya:
Priya Kunj Ras: Kirtans by Sri Vinod Bihari das Babaji. Mostly Hare Krishna kirtans, but occasionally he sings bhajans too. There's one particularly beautiful bhajan, and Vinod Baba's done a beautiful cover of it: Teeno Lokon Se Nyari Radharani Hamari.
Sri Krishna das Goswami: Many kirtans and bhajans collected by a certain Biswajit Kar. From what I can make out, Krishna das Goswami is a relative of the Prabhupada Premgopal Gosvami family (and is a guru in his own right), and is a disciple of Sri Prankrishna Baba. There's another channel by Deep Goswami also featuring kirtans/bhajans by Krishna das Goswami.
Gaurhari Rasik: Assorted collection of kirtans, discourses, bhajans. Some by Gaurhari Rasik himself, but sometimes featuring Vinod Baba.
Radharani Goswami - While this is a link to one of Radharani Goswami's hypnotic songs, it's worth checking out that link to Beethoven Records that hosts quite a lot of Bengali Gaudiya content.
Ashalata Mandal: Profuse Bengali content here, alongside other singers such as Ratana Rani Roy, Sumita Sarkar, Amol Krishna das etc. Much of it so emotional that Mandal dissolves into tears quite frequently, as does her audience. One example of this is the painful episode of Nimai Sannyas.
There's more Mandal and other Bengali content at the Jago Hindu channel.
Haridasi:
Pagal Rasik Baba - Honestly, I'm just trying to link to dedicated channels but there's so much Pagal Rasik Baba content out there that you're better off searching YouTube with those terms and you'll find much more. Baba passed away last year and was one of the most well-known singers of the Haridasi tradition of Vrindavan and some of his bhajans are very famous in Vrindavan.
Brij Mahima - I'm actually not sure who these two are but they are clearly disciples of Pagal Rasik Baba.
Chitra-Vichitra Ji Maharaj - as above, just trying to link to dedicated channels (there's also Vraj Bhav) but it's worth typing in 'Chitra Vichitra' and seeing what you get. Chitra-Vichitra Ji are a brother duo and probably the most famous disciples of Pagal Rasik Baba. They have composed and sung many, many charming songs with charming tunes.
Radhavallabhi:
Vrindavan Ras Mahima - The Radhavallabhi sect mainly just sing Radha's name repeatedly as kirtan, but some of their tunes are very charming, such as this one that was uploaded just yesterday.
Hita Ambrish Ji, one of the more popular gurus from the Radhavallabhi sect, in the sense that he regularly gives path on Indian TV channels like Sanskaar or Aastha.
General:
Kishan Bhaiya (Bhutani) Sirsawale: At first I thought Sirsawale was a 'mainstream' Krishna bhajan singer but I think some of his bhajans have a familiarity with Chaitanya Vaishnavism. For example there are many instances of him singing 'Nitai Gaur Radhe Shyam', others in praise of Sri Radha Raman, etc. Here's a particularly beautiful instance of singing Radha Naam Dhun, one of my first search queries and hence this dhun is one of the first I found: Sri Radha Naam Dhun. (There are several versions of this dhun going around but many are edited/cut. This is the full(Est) version I've found.)
Govind Bhargav - another 'mainstream' singer who appears to have familiarity with Chaitanyite lines, as he also sings 'Bhajo Nitai Gaur Radhe Shyam', 'Vishnupriya Prananath Nadiya Bihari' and similar. There was one heart-stopping bhajan of his that I managed to transfer from DVR to VHS a few years ago, but unfortunately a family member recorded on top of it and it's lost forever only existing in my memory. Sometimes I search YouTube on the off-chance that someone may have uploaded it but so far it is a vain pursuit.
Vinod Agarwal- the late GREAT Vinod Agarwal had a very classical voice and he sang bhajans in a style that came as close to 'qawwali' as possible. Many a time he himself dissolved into tears and dissolved his audience too. There's too many good bhajans to choose from, but here's an entrancing example of Radha Naam Dhun that lasts for over an hour!
Nikunj Kamra/Arushi Gambhir - both of these ladies are the musical disciples of Vinod Agarwal, and carry on his tradition of beautiful and hypnotic bhajans. Amazingly popular.
So this is not an exhaustive list and there is much beautiful content out there. However, just from this list and except where pointed out, many of the singers listed here sing in Hindi and are thus more 'accessible'. It would be wonderful if a Chaitanyite composer with a wonderful voice arose somewhere, and I think CV will popularise naturally as a result when the language with charming tunes makes things more accessible.
I've been exploring YouTube for nice Krishna bhajans and especially bhajans in praise of Radha as I find that more endearing and attractive. I'm not so keen on 'professional' singers such as Anup Jalota, Jagjit Singh, etc. Although they have beautiful voices and I listen to their bhajans on occasion, I find it more satisfying when the singer is a genuine Krishna bhakta and dedicates themself to singing almost exclusively Krishna bhajans.
What strikes me is the language barrier between Caitanya Vaishnavism and other strands of Vrindavan Vaishnavism; while there is much virtue in studying and Bengali to understand the language and texts that Mahaprabhu and His parishads spoke (and I understand that senior figures such as Prankrishna das Babaji encourage this), I can't help but feel that the 'mission' would spread much faster and easier if bhajans were sung in Hindi and thus become familiar to the majority of Indians. Besides that, there appear to be only a few traditionalists who sing bhajans publicly or regularly enough for them to become known, and popular singers among the traditionalists are even fewer.
We all know that prominent Gaudiya padakartas have composed beautiful songs through the centuries, so much so that their song lyrics can even be used in debates to prove doctrinal points, but what about the simple types of bhajans that have simply lyrics that are easy to follow and send their listeners into ecstasies?
In any case, I thought I'd compile a list here of the main bhajan singers out there so that it brings pleasure to the devotees here. There are of course a number of popular IGM singers coming up in the next generation such as Jahnavi Jivan, Acyuta Gopi, Gaura Vani and Mayapuris whose music can be somewhat eclectic with Western elements, but I thought I'd keep this traditional in terms of style.
Gaudiya:
Priya Kunj Ras: Kirtans by Sri Vinod Bihari das Babaji. Mostly Hare Krishna kirtans, but occasionally he sings bhajans too. There's one particularly beautiful bhajan, and Vinod Baba's done a beautiful cover of it: Teeno Lokon Se Nyari Radharani Hamari.
Sri Krishna das Goswami: Many kirtans and bhajans collected by a certain Biswajit Kar. From what I can make out, Krishna das Goswami is a relative of the Prabhupada Premgopal Gosvami family (and is a guru in his own right), and is a disciple of Sri Prankrishna Baba. There's another channel by Deep Goswami also featuring kirtans/bhajans by Krishna das Goswami.
Gaurhari Rasik: Assorted collection of kirtans, discourses, bhajans. Some by Gaurhari Rasik himself, but sometimes featuring Vinod Baba.
Radharani Goswami - While this is a link to one of Radharani Goswami's hypnotic songs, it's worth checking out that link to Beethoven Records that hosts quite a lot of Bengali Gaudiya content.
Ashalata Mandal: Profuse Bengali content here, alongside other singers such as Ratana Rani Roy, Sumita Sarkar, Amol Krishna das etc. Much of it so emotional that Mandal dissolves into tears quite frequently, as does her audience. One example of this is the painful episode of Nimai Sannyas.
There's more Mandal and other Bengali content at the Jago Hindu channel.
Haridasi:
Pagal Rasik Baba - Honestly, I'm just trying to link to dedicated channels but there's so much Pagal Rasik Baba content out there that you're better off searching YouTube with those terms and you'll find much more. Baba passed away last year and was one of the most well-known singers of the Haridasi tradition of Vrindavan and some of his bhajans are very famous in Vrindavan.
Brij Mahima - I'm actually not sure who these two are but they are clearly disciples of Pagal Rasik Baba.
Chitra-Vichitra Ji Maharaj - as above, just trying to link to dedicated channels (there's also Vraj Bhav) but it's worth typing in 'Chitra Vichitra' and seeing what you get. Chitra-Vichitra Ji are a brother duo and probably the most famous disciples of Pagal Rasik Baba. They have composed and sung many, many charming songs with charming tunes.
Radhavallabhi:
Vrindavan Ras Mahima - The Radhavallabhi sect mainly just sing Radha's name repeatedly as kirtan, but some of their tunes are very charming, such as this one that was uploaded just yesterday.
Hita Ambrish Ji, one of the more popular gurus from the Radhavallabhi sect, in the sense that he regularly gives path on Indian TV channels like Sanskaar or Aastha.
General:
Kishan Bhaiya (Bhutani) Sirsawale: At first I thought Sirsawale was a 'mainstream' Krishna bhajan singer but I think some of his bhajans have a familiarity with Chaitanya Vaishnavism. For example there are many instances of him singing 'Nitai Gaur Radhe Shyam', others in praise of Sri Radha Raman, etc. Here's a particularly beautiful instance of singing Radha Naam Dhun, one of my first search queries and hence this dhun is one of the first I found: Sri Radha Naam Dhun. (There are several versions of this dhun going around but many are edited/cut. This is the full(Est) version I've found.)
Govind Bhargav - another 'mainstream' singer who appears to have familiarity with Chaitanyite lines, as he also sings 'Bhajo Nitai Gaur Radhe Shyam', 'Vishnupriya Prananath Nadiya Bihari' and similar. There was one heart-stopping bhajan of his that I managed to transfer from DVR to VHS a few years ago, but unfortunately a family member recorded on top of it and it's lost forever only existing in my memory. Sometimes I search YouTube on the off-chance that someone may have uploaded it but so far it is a vain pursuit.
Vinod Agarwal- the late GREAT Vinod Agarwal had a very classical voice and he sang bhajans in a style that came as close to 'qawwali' as possible. Many a time he himself dissolved into tears and dissolved his audience too. There's too many good bhajans to choose from, but here's an entrancing example of Radha Naam Dhun that lasts for over an hour!
Nikunj Kamra/Arushi Gambhir - both of these ladies are the musical disciples of Vinod Agarwal, and carry on his tradition of beautiful and hypnotic bhajans. Amazingly popular.
So this is not an exhaustive list and there is much beautiful content out there. However, just from this list and except where pointed out, many of the singers listed here sing in Hindi and are thus more 'accessible'. It would be wonderful if a Chaitanyite composer with a wonderful voice arose somewhere, and I think CV will popularise naturally as a result when the language with charming tunes makes things more accessible.
