Nama Sankeerthanam

The evenings of last week were spent in listening to the Namasankeerthanam program organized in connection with the Ramanavami utsavam.
I am always fascinated by stories and used to love katha kalakshepam (hari katha) as a youngster. This namasankeerthanam was new to me and thought it will be a story telling session. My hubby loves carnatic music and we found out the program was more of music and a little bit of story telling.
Any way it was enjoyable. It was by one Mr. Udaiyalur kalyanaraman accompanied by another singer, a harmonist and a mrindagist.
The music value of the program was really very classic. He was able to sing in sanskrit (ashtapathis) , tamil , telugu and kannada (purandaradasa). He could campare the ideas of poets like Tyagaraja, purandaradasa, narayana thirtha who have expressed the same ideas of bakthi in different languages through their music.
I never knew that this bajanai had a sampradayam. That is a particular way of performing.
So I was surprised that there was a seeta kalyanam day when people brought sweets, paruppu thengai, etc etc which is normally part of any tamil brahmin wedding.
One of the days some of the audiences joined in mild steps of dancing and ladies joined in kummi in the background of perfect rythemic music. and there was a kolatam also, each assigned to certain songs. It was sort of funny to see senior citizens dancing and singing. The Bagavathar insisted on each person joining the bajans and was often singing simple bajans so that all could join and tap or clap with the rythm.
There was food for every body after the namasankeerthana every night.
All this lead me to thinking. Is this is one way of Bakthi being spread in the form of audience participation so that people will not get bored. Is this one way of maintaining the traditions of the rituals like marriage rituals.
I was questioning myself is it some sort of entertainment which was needed in the villages where each person whether he is good at music or dance to participate and let his /her hair down in the name of bakthi.
The bajans was reaching a cresendo often with all singing in unison hare rama hare rama. This did remind me of the Rajnish Ashram where people were singing (or was it shouting) in the top of their voice.
The Bagavadhar was saying that this bajanais normally start in the night and sometime continue throughout the night.
My grandmother used to say that when they were children they used to be awake whole night on krishna jayanthi and used to participate in kummi , kolatam and some small skits. some expression of art?
Though this raised a lots of questions in me, the point is I did enjoy the evenings and liked the rendering of the keerthanas and his telling the meanings of those keerthanas.
Such traditions I feel should be continued.