Devotional music has always been an important part of Indian culture. In recent years, this genre of music has seen a significant revival, especially among younger audiences. Aarti Khetrapal, an artiste who is reshaping the traditional style of bhajan music by fusing it with modern trends, reflects on this changing scenario. She says, “In my view, spiritual algorithms merging with global social media algorithms have transformed mainstream digital culture today.” “Just like people are getting Bollywood, Hollywood and cringe content, they are also giving importance and equal time to spiritual content, which is naturally changing their mindset, and they are listening to spiritually meaningful conversations in a very adaptable short-format video. So this is definitely a major generational change factor,” adds Khetrapal.

Aarti Khetrapal says we can never lose the community-driven core Hymn

“With the rise of social media, YouTube and live streams, we can never lose community-driven bhajans and raw bhajans because even today in temple towns and traditional communities, women and men remain connected only through traditional songs and traditional tunes,” shares Aarti.She adds, “So, while things are getting sophisticated and global, I know for a fact that community-driven hymns will never go away, but yes, the packaging of the same raw community-driven songs, which can be excellent in a temple, when recorded with proper technology in a studio or on a video, can be preserved for years and years and forever, so technology is enhancing it rather than taking it over.”

Aarti Khetrapal on balancing innovation and the emotional core of devotional music

Devotional music is rooted in emotion; The more global it becomes, the more sophisticated it becomes. There is a high risk that innovation will overwhelm the emotional core. To avoid this, Aarti adopts a method. She says, “I do proper research on the song I am about to sing and whenever a new composition comes, I try to listen to the narration from authentic saints to understand its spirit and depth, and I also get it proofread by senior spiritual scholars and guides before releasing it to the world.“

future of devotional music

“I think devotional music is about to take over the entire world. It is already entering the mainstream; the number of spiritual or devotional music is higher than the traditional genres; it is played widely; it is used in wellness centers; and it is used for cultural events. It is being used for political rallies. It is being used for youth gatherings, so I know for a fact that devotional music is here to stay and is being used throughout the world.” The music is meant to change the sphere,” she concluded while pondering where she sees other forms of bhajan and devotional music taking place. Next 5 to 10 years.