Rishikesh Kirtan Mela
Early October2027
MVT GuesthouseBalaknath Road · Upper Tapovan · Rishikesh
Five days of soulful kirtan, once a year in Rishikesh. Thank you to everyone who sang with us in 2026.
The festival
The week the hall overflows
Every October the kirtan family of Rishikesh, joined by singers and friends from around the world, gathers for five days of song. One voice leads, then the next, the drum finds its pulse, and a hall of hundreds slowly becomes a single voice.
It’s a shared practice, free and open to everyone. You arrive as audience and leave as choir.
Kirtan
Hours of call-and-response singing each day, led by visiting and local singers.
Workshops
New in 2026: a workshop every morning from Thursday to Sunday, on kartals, the yoga of relationships and absorbed kirtan. See the workshops →
Watch
See the hall sing
Words only go so far. Press play for a glimpse of the Mela: the hall, the singers and hundreds of voices becoming one.
Leading the kirtan
The voices of 2026
Madhava Prabhu
Sacinandana Swami
Gour Krishna
Tarana Caitanya
Rupa Manjari
Saci-Suta
14–18 October 2026
The 2026 line-up
The Mela opened on Wednesday at 4:30 PM. From Thursday to Sunday, each day had a morning kirtan, a workshop and a long evening kirtan.
Wednesday
Opening day
14th
- KirtanRajeshvar
- KirtanRupa Manjari
- KirtanTarana Caitanya
- KirtanSacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhava Prabhu
Thursday
Day two
15th
- KirtanSatya Vasudev
- KirtanRupa Manjari
- Kartal Workshopwith Madhava Prabhu
- KirtanTaruni Radha
- KirtanTarana Caitanya
- KirtanGour Krishna
- KirtanSacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhava Prabhu
Friday
Day three
16th
- KirtanSumit
- KirtanTarana Caitanya
- The Yoga of RelationshipsWorkshop with Tarana Caitanya
- KirtanPrema Murti
- KirtanRupa Manjari
- KirtanSaci-Suta
- KirtanSacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhava Prabhu
Saturday
Day four
17th
- KirtanPrema Murti
- KirtanSaci-Suta
- The Secrets of Absorbed KirtanWorkshop, day one, with Sacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhvacarya
- KirtanTarana Caitanya
- KirtanRupa Manjari
- KirtanSacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhava Prabhu
Sunday
Final day
18th
- KirtanTaruni Radha
- KirtanGour Krishna
- The Secrets of Absorbed KirtanWorkshop, day two, with Sacinandana Swami
- KirtanRupa Manjari
- KirtanSaci-Suta
- KirtanTarana Caitanya
- KirtanSacinandana Swami
- KirtanMadhava Prabhu
The line-up as published on each day of the Mela. All times are India time.
Thursday to Sunday · 11:45 AM
Kirtan Mela workshops
Three workshops explored sacred music, conscious relationships and a deeper way to live.
Thursday, 15 October
11:45 AM
With Madhava Prabhu
Feel the Rhythm: Kartals Workshop
Learn to play in kirtan with the kartals—the small hand cymbals that bring rhythm to kirtan. Learn basic techniques and how to play with care, confidence, and devotion. Through hands-on practice and stories about the spiritual significance of sound, you’ll explore how to support a kirtan and have the opportunity to try leading one yourself.
Friday, 16 October
11:45 AM
With Tarana Caitanya
The Yoga of Relationships
Our relationships are among our greatest teachers. They offer opportunities to grow, discover ourselves, and open our hearts to deeper love and understanding.
In this interactive workshop, we’ll explore the difference between love and attachment, the importance of humility, empathy, and service, and how relationships can become a path of spiritual growth. Through reflection and practical exercises, we’ll discover the art of conscious connection, inspired by yogic wisdom, Bhakti, and modern psychology.
Relationships can become a spiritual practice in their own right—an opportunity to bring love and awareness into everyday life.
Saturday 17 & Sunday 18 October
11:45 AM each day
With Sacinandana Swami
The Secrets of Absorbed Kirtan
Explore how kirtan can become a deeper experience of meditation, presence, and connection with the Divine. This two-day workshop invites you to bring your whole attention and heart into chanting.
On Saturday, discover how to bring the body and mind into focused chanting and listening.
On Sunday, build on this foundation by exploring how sacred sound can open the heart and deepen your devotional connection.
The workshops were part of the Kirtan Mela 2026 programme.
After the Mela
The kirtan carries on
The next Kirtan Mela is in early October 2027. Until then, the weekly evenings are in the same hall, and they are back from Wednesday 21 October.
The hall opens around 5:45 PM. In the summer monsoon the Wednesday and Thursday evenings pause; Saturday carries on all year.
Good to know
Finding the hall
MVT Guesthouse Kirtan Hall
Balaknath Road, Upper Tapovan, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand.
Walk the last stretch
Auto-rickshaws don’t come up this far, so plan to walk the last stretch up Balaknath Road. The hall is inside the MVT Guesthouse.
Come a little early
On weekly evenings the hall opens around 5:45 PM and the evening starts at 6:00 PM.
Questions
Before you come
When is the next Kirtan Mela?
The next Mela is in early October 2027. The exact dates will be posted on this page once they are set. To hear when they are out, follow @bhaktiyogarishikesh or message us on WhatsApp.
Is there kirtan before then?
Yes. The weekly evenings run in the same hall from 6 to 8 PM: kirtan on Wednesday and Saturday, a wisdom talk on Thursday. In the summer monsoon the Wednesday and Thursday evenings pause; Saturday carries on all year. See the weekly evenings
Is it free?
Yes. The Mela and the weekly evenings are free, and everyone is welcome.
Where is the hall?
In the kirtan hall at the MVT Guesthouse, Balaknath Road, Upper Tapovan, Rishikesh. Plan to walk the last stretch up Balaknath Road.
I’ve never been to a kirtan. Is this for me?
Yes. Come exactly as you are; the melodies teach themselves. If you’d like to know more first, read What is kirtan?
Five days of song. One enormous voice.
Thank you to everyone who came and sang with us. Until the next Mela in early October 2027, the kirtan carries on every week.