A native of Mauritius, Madhava was given his first drum at the age of 5. At 18, he moved to Vrindavan, a place of pilgrimage in India where kirtan has been practised continuously for centuries. He spent the next seven years living in an ashram, doing kirtan daily with the Krishna Balarama 24 Hour Kirtan Mandali, under the direction of legendary 24-hour kirtan leader, Aindra Dasa. While there he played the mrdanga drum for hours on end, day after day, honing his rhythmic skill and sensitivity. Unbeknownst to him, through bootleg recordings he was also becoming an influential figure in the global kirtan scene, all while sitting on the dusty floor of a small temple in a village in India. When Madhava left to return to the West, his mentor Aindra impressed on him that he had to take the kirtan back with him from Vrndavan – telling him: “Now it is you who must lead the kirtan“. Based in Switzerland, Madhava travels extensively through Europe and the US with his wife Radhika and his band Gaura Prema, enlivening audiences with the power of devotional kirtan. He fuses his Mauritian roots with the influences of India to produce a unique style of kirtan, but one in which the main ingredient is the heartfelt bhakti.
