Songs for Krishna Janmashtami - Classical, bhajans, folk music, & Vrindavan
Indians celebrated Krishna Janmasthami, or the birth of Lord Krishna. This year, I quizzed a few fellow musicians and my teacher for a short list of their favorites songs about Krishna.
I wish you all a very joyous Janmasthami. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu popularized the kirtan way of praying to Krishna during the early 16th Century. It was quite a punk concept in its time, allowing regular folk to pray with song and dance instead of the traditional Vedic chants. It was a form of democratization of worship, promising salvation through devotion, and drew on earlier influences in the Vaishnava Bhakti movements of the previous 700 years.
It led to an explosion of music, dance, paintings, and literature as everyone fascinated with Krishna’s story actively proselytized it.
Hindustani and Carnatic classical music traditions have hundreds of songs about Krishna, his life and actions, his antics as a child, the miracle story of his birth, his teachings in the Gita, and so much more. There’s also lots of romantic poetry written from the perspective of Radha and his Gopis. Naturally, it’d be unfair to pick ONE particular song or raag to encapsulate the enormity of Krishna’s impact in the Indian music pantheon.
This Janmasthami, I’m honored to be part of the crew for Naatak’s Vrindavan ( ← Ticket link), opening Sept 7th in Palo Alto’s Cubberly Theatre. The story is inspired by actual events surrounding the Widows of Vrindaavan. The film features original music written by our director, Sujit Saraf, and music composed by my teacher, Nachiketa Yakkundi. Of course, Krishna is a constant theme.
I polled all the featured musicians in the play and asked them their favorite songs/compositions about Krishna. Here’s the complete list and songs, in no particular order.
Songs in South Indian languages
Baaro Krishnayya in Raag Maand, sung by T M Krishna (ಬಾರೋ ಕೃಷ್ಣಯ್ಯ)
Jagadodhaarana in Raga Kapi - a rare live performance of MS Subbulakshmi (ಜಗದೋದ್ಧಾರಣ)
Pillangoviya Cheluva Krishnana in Raag Bhupali by Dr Vidyabhushana (here’s a bonus version from MS in Raga Kapi - ಪಿಲ್ಲಂಗೋವಿಯ ಚೆಲುವ ಕೃಷ್ಣನ)
Krishna nee bayganey baaro in Raag Yaman Kalyan. I love this version sung Ustad Rashid Khan and Hariharan (ಕೃಷ್ಣ ನೀ ಬೇಗನೆ ಬಾರೋ )
Asaithadum Mayil in Raga Simhendra Madhyamam, a composition by Ootukkaadu Venkatasubbaiyyer. (ஆசைத்தடும் மயில்)
Elara Krishna in Raga Kamboji composed by Sri Tyagaraja performed by Smt Aruna Sairam (ఏలరా కృష్ణ)
Krishna enabarade in Raag Madhuvanti performed by Bhargavi Venkatram (ಕೃಷ್ಣ ಏನಬರದೆ )
Raagi Tandeera bhikshukaragi tandira composed by Purandaradasa performed by Vasu Dixit (ರಾಗಿ ತಂದೀರ ಭಿಕ್ಷುಕರಾಗಿ ತಂದಿರಾ)
Yaadava nee baa composed by Sri Purandaradasa and sung by Pt Bhimsen Joshi (ಯಾದವ ನೀ ಬಾ)
Songs in Hindi
Mhaara re giridhar gopal in Miya Malhar sung by Lata Mangeshkar
Aaaj Nand ke dwaare bheer in Raag Bhairavi sung by Nachiketa Yakkundi
Nand Ghar Anand in Raag Nand, a written, composed, and performed by Pt Ramashreya Jha
Jo tum todo piya is a meera bhajan with many variants, but this one by Lata Mangeshkar is my favorite.
Chalo Mana Vrindaavan ki aur in Raag Marwa written by Das Narayan and performed by Pt Rajan and Sajan Mishra.
Churaaye Kanha from Shatranj Ke Khiladi OST, composed & performed by Anitha Dixit with lyrics by Ritwik Verma.
Woh hai albela from the movie Kisna sung by Sukwinder Singh
To learn more about Krishna and his relevance to Indian art, check out this excellent compilation from Google Arts & Culture.
