In Hinduism, Bengali saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu propagated ideas of bhakti, or devotion to a personal God, through kirtan (collective recitation of hymns) and nagar kirtan (kirtan the in form of religious processions), and is credited in the Vaishnava tradition with introduction of the custom. The congregational singing of Chaitanya was done to folk tunes and accompanied by the boisterous booming of drums and cymbals.
