UGC Approved - 45554 Sangeet Galaxy Vol. 7, Issue. 1 (January 2018) pp. 5-10 ISSN: 2319-9695 www.sangeetgalaxy.co.in 5 Padavali Kirtan of Bengal Tama Debnath 1 (PhD Scholar) & Dr. Rabindra Bharali 2 (Assistant Professor) Department of Music, Tripura University, Tripura Email 1 : tama.debnath.music@gmail.com Email 2 : rabindra.bharali@gmail.com Abstract In the field of Indian music and literature, Padavali Kirtan is regarded as a remarkable artistic achievement which conveys the perfect blend of melody, poetry and dramatic aesthetic values. The lyrics of Vaishnava Savants are not only musical but also a fine piece of literature called Brajabuli. Joydev, the celebrated author of the “Gitagovinda (Astapadi)” is regarded as the father of Padavali Kirtan and these forms were evolved from the ‘Padas’ of “Gitagovinda”. The word “Kirtan” is used all over India to signify, “Songs in Praise”. The theme of these compositions cover the divine love, sentiment and romance (divine shringar) of Srikrishna and Radha known as ‘Rasa-Kirtan’ and the composition was called ‘Lila- Kirtan’. Countless songs were composed on Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, as his life story was very much related to the Radha Krishna theme. It is believed that the compositions of Padavali Kirtan are very much influenced by the Hindustani classical music. Padavali Kirtan has also its own tala system which is based on Sri-Khol (Mridangam) and it is the most attractive feature of Padavali Kirtan, which makes it different from all other types of music of India, in respect of sound production with great performance and presentation. Key words: Kirtan, Padavali, Bengal, Charyapada, Prabandha, Gitagovindam. Introduction: In our country, several types of music were evolved from ancient time such as classical music, folk music and devotional music. As we know, classical and folk music are now placed in a deserving position, whereas devotional music also became very popular for its heart touching melodies and bhavs (rasa). In Indian culture Bengal is an ideal section to generate a quality of art forms in different variety throughout all the ages. The ‘Charyapada’ is a collection of Buddhists Sidhacharyas songs of the earliest forms of music of the region. The ‘Charyapadas’ were composed during the rules of the ‘Pala’s, which are based on some lyrical structures. The compositions of Charyapada’s are influenced by the classical music and there were some references of specific ragas. According to great scholars, ‘Charyapada’ is an ancient form of Padavali Kirtan of Bengal. As a musical appearance Kirtan was far older than today’s Padavali Kirtan. Though, we found assorted rhythmical genres which are called Bengali religious scriptures, like Manasamangal, Dharmamangal, and Krishnamangal etc. The history of Bengal says that, we can’t overlook these scriptures which were helping us to set up the ‘Padas’ as musical compositions. Padavali Kirtan is a rich devotional musical form of Bengal and it is the unique variety of Bengali music