Kirtan Call
How Bay Area Artists Are Redefining Kirtan and Devotional Music 

  BhaktiFest At Joshua Tree 

The clock had just struck midnight and a roomful of actors, yoga teachers, graphic designers, musicians, moms, models, bankers, architects and doctors from all over the world erupted into an ecstatic ushering in of the new year to the wild samba rhythms of “Bolo Ram (Let the Spirits Sing)” from Jai Uttal’s recent release “Thunder Love.” Welcome to 2009 and welcome to Kirtan Camp with local chant master Jai Uttal, accompanied by Nubia Teixera and Daniel Paul. The room was vibrating with energy; the explosive blend of music, dance and community induced euphoria.

Before I’d even heard the word bhakti, a Sanskrit word for devotion, I was throwing my heart forcefully into a path of trust, honor and love. This phenomenon created itself as I danced, twirled, sang, sweated, screamed, laughed, cried and fell to the floor with my heart bursting open in the midst of Saul David Raye’s extended yoga class. It was the Indian summer of 2007 at Lulu Bandha’s annual Ojai Yoga Crib. “Don’t be afraid to dance!” Saul gasped, as a room full of yogis and yoginis from around the globe ecstatically moved to the sounds of Karnamrita Dasi’s track “The Glories of Sri Radha.” My bhakti yellow brick road began in this moment, with spirits flying and hearts dancing toward the divine.

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