KirtanKirtana (कीर्तन ; ), also rendered as Kirtan or Keertan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. 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. 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.
Marathi languageMarathi (pronməˈrɑːti; Devanagari: मराठी, məˈɾaːʈhiː) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and an additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of the 22 scheduled languages of India, with 83 million speakers as of 2011. Marathi ranks 13th in the list of languages with most native speakers in the world. Marathi has the third largest number of native speakers in India, after Hindi and Bengali.
VishnuVishnu (ˈvɪʃnuː ; Viṣṇu, ʋɪʂɳʊ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as The Preserver within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Adi Shakti, is described as the supreme Para Brahman, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma.
SampradayaSampradaya (सम्प्रदाय; ), in Indian origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmission of dharma, various sampradayas have the Guru-shishya parampara in which parampara or lineage of successive gurus (masters) and shishyas (disciples) serves as a spiritual channel and provides a reliable network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity.
PunePune (puɳe; pronˈpuːnə), previously known as Poona, (the official name from 1818 until 1978) is a city in Maharashtra state in the Deccan plateau in Western India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Pune district, and of Pune division. The city of Pune is part of Pune Metropolitan Region. Pune is one of the largest IT hubs in India. It is also one of the most important automobile and manufacturing hubs of India. Pune is often referred to as "Oxford of the East" because of highly regarded educational institutions in the city.
MaharashtraMaharashtra (məhɑːˈrɑːʃtrə; məhaɾaːʂʈɾə, abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest.