Max Mueller, a noted German erudite and scholar once remarked; “if I were to look over the whole world to find out a country most richly endowed with all the power, wealth and beauty that nature can bestow, in some respect the very paradise on earth I should point to India”.

In the heart of such an extraordinary country is situated Brij -a spiritual land where even Gods of heaven aspire to reside. The Brij region is spread out in about 200 Kms and consists of sacred places like Mathura, Govardhan, Radha Kund, Jatipura, Lathavan, Barsana, Nandgaon, Brindavan, Gokul and Baldeo, just to name only a few of them. All these are said to have sports of Lord Krishna but the more significant of them are Mathura the birthplace of Lord Krishna, Gokul where Krishna was brought up by Nanda and Yashodha and Barsana, the birthplace of Radha.

Both Lord Krishna and Radha were childhood sweethearts, and are widely worshiped and devoted in the whole Brij region. They are the paragon of platonic love as both are deeply devoted to each other. Lord Krishna worships Radha and Krishna is Radha’s life and soul.

The residents of Brij region are devotees of Radha and Krishna. The cultural life of the Brij region is very unique. The guiding principle of this culture is, “Simple living and high thinking.” These people live a happy-go-lucky life, are habitually content despite their circumstances, and are always ready to help and serve people who come and visit this Brij region.

The adventures of Lord Krishna and episodes from his life are enacted by performers in resplendent brocade garments in the show called “Raas Leela” in which dance, song and music are predominant. This is a great source of devotion & recreation.

Brij Kala is important as it provides us a way to learn ancient teachings through a simplistic way of dance & music. It is said that we have meaning to our lives as long as we have cultural values and our culture is derived from our art (Kala). The art forms give us our heritage values and age-old invaluable teachings.

At the moment in India, there are many art forms present but Brij Kala is unique, as this art form is carrying the original dance form through the people of the villages within 200 km of “Govardhan parvat” (Govardhan mountain) which is considered to be a sacred place. The music used during the performances and costumes worn by the artists are a depiction of how it was worn in the ancient days.