Why the room matters
Kirtan can happen in any room with bodies and voices, but a few rooms hold the practice especially well. The open-air Wantilan at Svarga Loka is one of those — its proportions, its acoustics, its place between the rice-field humidity and the river-canyon air all contribute to a specific resonance. The same names sung in this room sound different than they would sung anywhere else; the room is part of the instrument. Long-term participants speak of the Wantilan with the recognition of musicians speaking about a particular venue with great sound.