Kirtan is locally known as Abhang, Samaj Gayan, Haveli Sangeet, Vishnupad, Harikatha. In Maharashtra for example, states Novetzke, a kirtan is a call-and-response style performance, ranging from devotional dancing and singing by a lead singer and audience, to an 'intricate scholarly treatise, a social commentary or a philosophical/linguistic exposition', that includes narration, allegory, humor, erudition and entertainment вЂ“ all an aesthetic part of ranga (beauty, color) of the kirtan. However, it is a heterogeneous practice that varies regionally according to Christian Novetzke, and includes varying mixture of different musical instruments, dance, oration, theatre, audience participation and moral narration. Kirtan, sometimes referred to as sankirtana (literally, 'collective performance'), is a call-and-response chanting or musical conversation, a genre of religious performance arts that developed during India's bhakti devotional traditions. Kirt, according to Monier-Williams contextually means, 'to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify'. The root is found in the Samhitas, the Brahmanas and other Vedic literature, as well as the Vedanga and Sutras literature. The root of kirtan is kirt ( Sanskrit: а¤•аҐЂа¤°аҐЌа¤¤аҐЌ). Texts typically cover religious, mythological or social subjects. Kirtan is sometimes accompanied by story-telling and acting. It is a major practice in Hinduism, Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions and some forms of Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. A Kirtan performance includes an accompaniment of regionally popular musical instruments, such as the harmonium, the veena or ektara (forms of string instruments), the tabla (one-sided drums), the mrdanga or pakhawaj (two-sided drum), flute (forms of woodwind instruments), and karatalas or talas (cymbals). ДЄ person performing kirtan is known as a kirtankara (or kirtankar). Many kirtan performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant, or reply to the call of the singer. It may include dancing or direct expression of bhavas (emotive states) by the singer. With roots in the Vedic anukirtana tradition, a kirtan is a call-and-response style song or chant, set to music, wherein multiple singers recite or describe a legend, or express loving devotion to a deity, or discuss spiritual ideas.

It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas, native to the Indian subcontinent. Kirtan ( Sanskrit: а¤•аҐЂа¤°аҐЌа¤¤а¤Ё IAST: KД«rtana) is a Sanskrit word that means 'narrating, reciting, telling, describing' of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. Kirtan with traditional instruments by Sikh singers in Kenya in the 1960s

Punjabi shabad kirtan