Chants of India - My Review

I stumbled on this album accidentally. It was the track Hari Om that first caught my fascination. Normally, I do not like improvizations (remixes) of original tracks, like Anuradha Paudwal's Gayatri Mantra, but Chants of India is an exception.

Chants of India is Pt. Ravi Shankar's effort to set Sanskrit chants from ancient Hindu scriptures to music. As expected, the result is a captivating mix of chant and music. This collection of mantras and prayers from the Vedas, Upanishads, and other scriptures powerfully transports the listener to a place of peace where it's possible to be one with the universe. I always thought phrases like "I feel one with God when I hear music" was just impressive writing and never actually true. This collection shattered that opinion of mine. It starts, as in traditional Indian music, with a chant for Lord Ganesh. The collection is quite varied from chantings of a specific God such as the goddess of Learning (Saraswati); chantings from the Gita, the vedas; to the famous Gayathri mantra,. The chants are authentic in their rendering in terms of the utterances and adherence to tradition.

It's as if a heavy, enveloping cloak of serenity falls from the dark. A number of instruments are employed to accent the mighty "OM" thread that weaves itself through the cloth of this album, bringing together deep, ominous voices with delicate, earthly instruments.

Track Listing (Download)
1. Vandanaa Trayee
2. Omkaaraaya Namaha
3. Vedic Chanting (One)
4. Asato Maa
5. Sahana Vavatu
6. Poornamadah
7. Gaayatri
8. Mahaa Mrityunjaya (Triyambakam Yajamahe)
9. Veena Murali
10. Geetha (Karmanya Vadhikaraste)
11. Mangalam (Tala Mantra)
12. Hari Om
13. Svara Mantra
14. Vedic Chanting (Two)
15. Prabhujee (File split into three parts - part1, part2, part3. Download all of them and open the zip file. Extract the track from there)
16. Sarve Shaam

Go here for the text. Peace be with you :)

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