Of Speech and Song in the Shadow of Krishna

This article presents Dr Majumder’s reflections from her field work on the music and soundscapes of Bhakti in Vrindavan. 

Excerpt: “When I tell people that research is about music and soundscapes of Bhakti, they tell me that the first step to accessing the divine is shravanam – to listen. And I am desperately trying to listen myself out of an echo chamber – literal and metaphorical. I came to Vrindavan to experience a bhakta’s joy at locking eyes with the deity. I found the devotee public locked in an echo chamber crying out in pain. Somewhere, in the midst of this ramshackle town, everyone is joined in the expression of a common biraha [separation].”