The 70th annual Harinam Sankirtan at Sadhak Shyamananda Ashram in Sarail, Brahmanbaria, concluded on Saturday morning, drawing tens of thousands of devotees to a sustained ritual of chanting and prayer for world peace and the welfare of all living beings.
The 16-prahara Sankirtan—regarded as the largest such gathering in the upazila—was held at Niamatpur, a Hindu-majority village under Shahjadapur Union. Organised by the Sri Sri Sadhak Shyamananda Ashram Committee, the programme began on Wednesday with Gita recitation followed by adhibas rituals, setting the spiritual cadence for four days of uninterrupted devotional chanting.
By the final day, the ashram grounds and surrounding village had filled with an estimated 50,000 devotees who travelled from across the country. The steady rhythm of kirtan transformed the ashram into a focal point of collective worship, with the flow of visitors continuing throughout the event.
Ashram Committee President Pradip Bhowmik said the Sankirtan has been organised continuously for seven decades, becoming an annual fixture of religious life in the area. Vice-president Amresh Sarkar, who is also a local Union Parishad member, noted that the scale of participation extended beyond the ashram, creating a festival-like atmosphere across Niamatpur as thousands of devotees arrived each day.
General Secretary Jagadish Sarkar traced the tradition further back, saying the ashram was founded in 1913 by Sadhak Shyamananda Baba, whose spiritual legacy continues to shape the community. He said the Harinam Sankirtan festival has been held regularly since 1956, initiated by the late saint himself, and now stands as a marker of local heritage as much as religious devotion. However, he added that poor transport links to the ashram remain a challenge for visiting devotees.
For local residents, the gathering is both spiritual and communal. Manoranjan Sarkar, a village physician from the area, said participation in the festival was a source of shared joy, as the influx of devotees temporarily reshaped village life around the ashram.
Sadhak Shyamananda passed away in 1970, but the annual Sankirtan continues to anchor the ashram’s place in the religious and cultural landscape of Sarail, sustained by tradition, collective memory and the enduring draw of devotional practice
