Virtual Kirtan Choir sings Ma Durga

Enjoy this great devotional music production by Daniel C Tucker / Kirtan Central. 

'Bhakti Yoga isn't something you join, it's love.

It means love.

It means falling in love.

Eventually, 

Recognising the beauty of your own Self.

Falling in love with your Self, 

which is God.' 

Krishna Das

For more music inspiration, check out the original Virtual Choir videos by Eric Whitacre below....

David Kuckhermann : World Percussion

Although he doesn't play mridanga, David is an inspirational drummer and teacher with experience in a wide variety of traditions. Check out his awesome videos and links to his websites below.

You can find out more about him on his website http://www.framedrums.net/  and join a community of hand drummers / world percussion players at http://www.percussion-net.com (forum/video/tutorials/articles). I recommend having a look around both of these sites if you fancy finding some drumming inspiration.

I hope you enjoy his clear teaching style and talent as much as I have. Check out these examples of his videos:

Balaram Mridangas

This was going to be a nostalgic post as I had thought the Balaram mridanga was out of production...

But, after watching this great screenprinting video the other day, I went on to find some new Balaram Mridanga stuff you might be pleased to see.

Read on for more (also, if anyone can get me one of these T-Shirts, let me know - XL please, the years haven't been kind!).

You've probably seen my earlier posts and the resources list where you can find and buy the original 'Introduction to the Balaram Mridunga' (with cassette).

I was browsing through the Kirtan Central Store and found.... Balaram Mridangas for sale! STILL AVAILABLE in four colours. I wouldn't have found this if it wasn't for Daniel Tucker. Thanks again!

Looking to fix or replace broken parts on your Balaram Mridanga? Get new components in the U.S. here and the U.K. here. Awesome!

For some background about this drum, read about the History of the Fibreglass [Balaram / Tilak] Mridanga by Ishan Dasa. A great story with ongoing discussions....

Finally, check out these pictures of Balaram Mridangas around the world. From Australia to Antarctica, Detroit to Durban, and Paris to Paraguy. The Balaram drum was my first mridanga experience. Great Stuff!

There are loads of spellings out there for the drum: mrdanga, mridunga, mrdunga, mrdang, mrdung, bengali khol. Although 'Khol' is popular in Bengal/India, at most of the indian music shops I've been to in the UK, and on some world music DVD's, it is commonly called 'Mridanga' by most players in the West. Hence www.Mridanga.Net

Syahi and Repair

Check out the first of some fascinating syahi repair videos!

For more, visit premavilas's channel here and select 'uploads'. Thanks premavilas, it's great to see people sharing this stuff!

There is also a nice description on facebook about syahi here.