The Hare Krishna movement originates from Bengal, has spread throughout the world in the last fifty years and worships the god Vishnu, especially in his incarnation as Krishna. In the West it got known by its singing and dancing mendicants in pedestrian areas. Their music is based on classical North Indian and Bengali traditions. It is both easily accessible and quite complex in terms of melodies and rhythms. This DVD set was produced by insiders of the Hare Krishna movement and includes some cultic and ritualistic elements you can simply ignore them if you are exclusively interested in the musical. The presented material offers a unique wealth of authentic information and is great for all percussionists with an interest in Indian grooves, all kirtan singers, all Krishna devotees and all harmonium, khol and cymbal players.

DVD 1: Mridanga / khol, 87 min.:
Five consecutive lessons with Krishna Kirtana Dasa and Nityananda Prana Dasa: Holding the instrument, mridanga mantra, stroke techniques with spoken syllables (bols), stroke combinations, asawari (8 beats), kaharva (8 beats), tihais (3-fold repeated concluding patterns), karfa (16 beats) and jhati (4 beats). Finally some bhajans sung with the accompaniment of harmonium, mridanga and kartals.
 
DVD 2: Harmonium, 113 min.:
Eight consecutive lessons in traditional Indian vocal melody accompaniment in the key of C# with Vaiyasaki Dasa: Fingering, different scales, basic technical exercises and simple melodies. Finally 14 complex songs with sophisticated accompaniment to play along with for advanced musicians. In addition, four more challenging Visnujana pieces with Sunanda Dasa.    
 
DVD 3: Kartal / manjeera, 36 min.:
?Krishna Kirtana Dasa demonstrates correct holding of kartals, striking techniques and different songs and grooves in 6, 7, 8, 12, and 16 beats.
    
DVD 4: 30 harmonium melodies, 90 min.:
Sri Prahlad presents thirty sung melodies with sophisticated harmonium accompaniment in D and E and mid-tempo for the Hare Krishna Maha Mantra and seven other tunes for hymns called Pranama. Shri Prahlad also gives an introduction to intention and practice of kirtan chanting and singing in the Hare Krishna movement.