Patita Pavan Das
Patita Pavan Das is a Bhakti yogi, musician and kirtan leader based in Ubud, Bali, and the founder of The Hanuman Project — a devotional music movement that has been growing steadily for over a decade. His story carries an unusual and quietly compelling thread: he did not come from a musical background, and as a child he carried a speech impediment. That he has spent his adult life at microphones and on stages around the world, leading communities in sacred chant, says something about the particular quality of conviction that animates his work. He splits his time between ashram living and touring, giving his practice a grounded, non-commercial character that is rare in the world of festival wellness.
The Hanuman Project describes itself not as a band but as a movement — a grassroots devotional ensemble weaving together Sanskrit mantra, Hindi bhajan and South American medicine music. In practice, this means live kirtan that draws on multiple traditions without being doctrinaire about any single one. The ensemble has headlined the Medicine Festival in the United Kingdom, BaliSpirit Festival and Colibri Festival, and is currently resident at Alchemy in Ubud, performing in what Pavan describes as an award-winning natural temple-shala. Beyond performance, he co-founded The Yoga of Sound, a sound-healing school, and leads bhakti immersions, sacred music trainings and yoga-and-kirtan retreats for those wanting to go deeper.
What sets Pavan apart is the accessibility of his approach alongside its depth. Kirtan can feel impenetrable to newcomers — rooted in Sanskrit, in specific devotional traditions, in a particular community vocabulary — but those who have attended The Hanuman Project's sessions describe offerings that are easy to enter even for the uninitiated, yet genuinely sustaining for seasoned practitioners. His personal story reinforces this: someone who overcame a real barrier to spoken expression and found in communal chant a path that worked precisely because it bypassed what was difficult. There is a coherence between biography and practice that gives his teaching an earned credibility.
The Hanuman Project is the right destination for people drawn to devotional practice who want something living and musical rather than purely meditative or movement-based — whether that means attending a single kirtan evening in Ubud or joining a multi-day bhakti immersion or sacred music training. Pavan's work is especially suited to those who feel curious about mantra and chant but have no prior background, as well as experienced practitioners seeking community and a broader sonic palette. His website at hanumanproject.com holds details of the current residency at Alchemy, upcoming retreats and training programmes, and recordings from the ensemble.