KIRTAN LONDON

from ISKCON-London Annual Review 2020

GIVING

KIRTAN LONDON KIRTAN LONDON

Kirtan London is a collaborative outreach project sharing kirtan and bhakti-yoga practices with Londoners, supported by both ISKCON-London and Bhaktivedanta Manor. 2020 was an extremely unusual year but this did not stop the team from continuing and growing their service to the wider public and cultivating their community.

Before the first lockdown hit, the team had hosted 10 beautiful Mantra Lounge events in Neal’s Yard, organised a day retreat for 35 guests at Bhaktivedanta Manor with Sacinandana Swami, and started a book club with a group of regulars.

When the lockdown started, Kirtan London shifted all events online. The enthusiastic team engaged in supporting the community through difficult times with daily kirtans, Mantra Lounge programmes,

Wisdom Wednesdays, bhakti interviews, meditation sessions, sangas, and sharing spiritual stories and talks on Instagram, Facebook and Zoom. They also released a live kirtan album titled ‘Mantra Music Meditation: Kirtan London Live Volume 1’.

During August and September, as the Government lockdown restrictions eased, Kirtan London had four lively Kirtan in the Park events in Hampstead Heath with lots of eager participants and passersby happily chanting Hare Krishna and dancing around the kirtan group.

Radhika Ranjana dasa also hosted several soldout meditation events at the OmNom Restaurant and online collaborative events with other kirtan communities around the world. A small group of regular guests and team members managed to take a trip to the Ahimsa farm and spent the day in the company of the beautiful cows there.

As the lockdown restrictions started to tighten up again, Kirtan London hosted a six-week online course with Mahatma dasa titled ‘Take Your Mantra Deeper’ which took 19 participants on a journey of self-discovery, exploring bhakti wisdom and inspiring them to take up daily chanting. A special winter kirtan was organised on Zoom, themed around the spirit of giving and compassion, which collected donations for Food for Life.

In 2020, Kirtan London’s Instagram following doubled from 3,000 to nearly 6,000 followers due to increased social media presence during the pandemic and more people turning to kirtan during difficult times. In December, the team started a social media campaign for a 31-day Mantra Challenge and had an incredible 140 sign-ups to chant with them daily for the month of January 2021.