Urmila devi dasi: NY Times front page, top and middle of the page with main photo article about kirtana
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/fashion/05fitness-01.html?scp=1&sq=kirtan&st=cse

…“It has left the churches and the yoga studios because it’s such a simple practice,” said Krishna Das, 61, who grew up on Long Island as Jeff Kagel and traveled to India in the early 1970s. “It’s not about belief in any religions, so people are coming from all walks of life. You give it a try and if it works, you’re in fat city. If not, you do something else.”

Although kirtan is rooted in India’s devotional religions and involves chanting the names of God, Krishna Das says the practice requires no allegiance to any deity or set of beliefs, and he is dismayed that many associate the chant “Hare Krishna” with people who begged on the streets and danced in airports in the 1970s.

He recalled the chant he led at a medium-security prison in Virginia. “The group was pretty into it,” he said. “They were clapping and chanting along, and then as soon as I sang ‘Hare Krishna’ they all looked at each other and went, Oh, that’s what he is. And they just stopped singing and stopped participating. That was just terrible.”…

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/05/fashion/05fitness-01.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

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