In March 1976, devotees attending the Mayapur-Vrindavan Festival were still staying at the Fogla Ashram, despite the Krishna Balaram Mandir having opened the year before. I have fond memories of meeting fellow brahmacaris in their rooms during that festival to share the latest recordings, copying them from each other’s tape decks. One of the devotees I connected with was Rksaraj das, who was already a renowned kirtan leader. This particular recording was one of his personal tapes made in Mombasa the previous year. The bhajans and kirtans these three godbrothers performed together and individually over the next several years would become influential all over the world.
That was also the year of the renowned Chicago kirtan tour. Uttamasloka organized a kirtan pilgrimage from Chicago to Detroit, Toronto, and finally Montreal, where we eventually joined hundreds of devotees on an Air India 747 to fly to India. Each stop was full of ecstatic kirtans. In Detroit, four Radha Damodara buses were stationed with Tamal Krishna Goswami, Dristadumnya Swami, Vishnujan Swami, Jayananda, and Lakshmi Narayan. Everyone was gathered in high anticipation of seeing Srila Prabhupada in Mayapur.
Divyanga, Jiva Goswami, and I happened to be in Detroit when the Chicago devotees—led by Uttamasloka, Sripati, and Vishnudatt—arrived. We had been considering staying in Detroit under the beautiful program overseen by Govardhana and Indrabarta, and Tamal Krishna was encouraging us to join the Radha Damodara Party. However, once the three of us met the Chicago devotees and experienced their kirtans in Radha Kunjabihari’s temple, we were in awe. We immediately joined the tour, heading to Toronto for even more ecstatic kirtans with Visvakarma and Bhakti Marg, alongside fabulous feasting orchestrated by Ayodhyapati das (BB Govinda Swami).
Next, we traveled to Montreal to see Sri Sri Radha Manohar and immerse ourselves in kirtans with Nandikesvara. Boarding the giant 747 with hundreds of devotees took our anticipation over the top; the pilot even had to ask us to settle down to ensure flight stability because of our enthusiastic kirtans and dancing in the aisles!
Upon arriving in Mayapur, the Chicago, Toronto, and Montreal devotees gathered with Rksaraj for a rousing kirtan to inaugurate the festival. It was a style I had never experienced before—we collectively felt as if we were being lifted off the ground. This was also the festival where Uttamasloka recorded the "Nocturnal Kirtan" tape and Akincina Krishna Das Babaji’s bhajans in a room near the Mayapur entry gate. Sharing recordings with Rksaraj at the Fogla Ashram was a natural follow up to all of this. The following year, we reconnected to record the famous "Vrindavan Sessions" at the Krishna Balaram Mandir.