BHUBANESWAR: Thousands of people from across the state converged on Lower PMG here on Wednesday to invoke god through Sankirtan (musical performances).People usually gather here to stage protests, dharnas and demonstrations seeking fulfilment of their demands related to livelihood and other disputes. But these people had no complaints against anybody. They were simply marching for peace and harmony in the world.Sankirtan or kirtan, a popular form of performance art to pay obeisance to god, was started by Chaitanya from West Bengal in the 15th century. A troupe, which performs this spiritual act, is called as Sankirtan Mandali . Every troupe has two singers, one or two persons to play the mridangam (a percussion instrument) and cymbal players.Chaitanya 's Bhakti movement had attracted people from all castes and creed. Later, Sankirtan Mandalis were created in many villages of the state. "Till this day, several villages have kept the tradition alive by performing san kirtan every day and organizing kirtans in other villages to spread the name of god. Though the number of troupes is decreasing with the passage of time, around 20,000 troupes are still functioning in the state," said Dibakar Patra , president of Shree Shree Jagannath Kala Sanskruti Sankirtan Seba Bikas Parishad, an umbrella organization of Sankirtan Mandalis. Patra said the new generation is not interested in learning to play the mridangam or singing kirtans.Manoranjan Panigrahy, secretary of culture department, said the state government has included Sankirtan as a folk art and provided pension to some of its artists. Now 4,000 artists of different folk arts are getting a pension of Rs 1200 per month.The names of another 1,000 artists have been finalized. As chief minister Naveen Patnaik has decided to provide pension 50,000 artists, more Sankirtan artists will get monetary help, he added.

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