Bairagi mandals

The word mandal is Sanskrit in origin and has passed into the north Indian languages meaning a halo of light or circle. The word is also used in the sense of a circle of colleagues or people who pursue similar (such as literary) interests and are linked together in a loosely knit yet formally constructed organisation. Devotees of various Vaisnavite sects form kirtan (devotional hymns) mandals and meet regularly in their home or in temples to sing these devotional hymns for pleasure, merit and occasionally for hire.