On a chilly winter evening in New Delhi, Shikha Jaiswal walked into a stadium and stopped short in surprise. Blue and purple lights washed over the arena as hundreds of phone flashlights rose into the air and electronic beats pulsed through the crowd.
Men and women in leather jackets, high boots and glitter-painted faces danced with abandon.
It felt like a rock concert – except the singers were belting out high-voltage bhajans, devotional songs praising Hindu gods and goddesses, at what was billed as Delhi’s biggest “bhajan clubbing” event.
Hindu devotional songs are rooted in religious and spiritual ideas. For centuries, bhajans have been sung at slow, meditative settings – within homes, temples, prayer gatherings, by wandering ascetics on buses and trains, and in 1970s Bollywood musicals.
On December 21, however, the genre took a dramatic turn.
A multigenerational concert at Indira Gandhi Sports Complex in the Indian capital mesmerised residents like Jaiswal as singers from the Keshavam Devotional Rock Band reimagined traditional bhajans with electronic beats, creating a heady fusion at the crossroads of faith and festivity.
The three-hour “rave” was complete with high-pitched vocals, pounding drums, electric guitars, flashing lights and chanting crowds.
“I was pleasantly surprised when everything started,” says Jaiswal, 25, a Delhi-based marketing professional who attended the concert with her mother.
“When the performers picked up the tempo, it felt different – all you could see was people dancing and having fun – yet it was a very divine experience.”
Jaiswal says she heard about the event on social media and was intrigued by the idea of a religious dance concert. “I’ve been trying to understand my religion better. I’m a spiritual person, so the curiosity was natural – what would a bhajan clubbing event even look like?”
Alternative to Christmas
The event was the brainchild of Nikunj Gupta, who founded Sanatana Journey in 2024 to cater to devotional needs online. He says he was expected about 1,000 people, but more than 3,000 “clubbers” turned up.
“I wanted to do this around Christmas and New Year's Eve,” says Gupta. “What do Hindus do when there’s no festival around Christmas?
“All over the world, Sufi nights are popular. We wanted to take bhajans and devotional songs to that level,” he adds.
Gupta says bhajan-jamming was already popular on social media. The idea was to scale it up into a full-fledged concert that could appeal across age groups.
“We thought of organising it in a cafe for college groups and didn’t announce the artists initially. When we sold more than 1,000 tickets, we approached Keshavam. We wanted people to come for the experience, not the band.”
Founded in November 2024, Keshavam Devotional Rock Band is made up of eight artists, including two singers.
“We wanted to do something different that would engage the youth,” says Lovish Sheetal, 32, one of the singers. “I’ve grown up listening to bhajans. This is our way of drawing young people to them.
“We’re not diluting the songs, we’re amplifying them,” he adds. “We sing the same traditional bhajans people have heard since childhood. The harmonium is replaced with guitars – changing the sound, but not the words.”
The idea has surged in popularity as religious expression gains greater visibility under India’s right-wing Hindu government. From metros such as Mumbai and Kolkata to smaller cities, devotional rock bands are attracting a multigenerational audience. Sanatana Journey is expecting more than 10,000 attendees at its next event later this month in Delhi.
Artists describe the movement as an effort to take Sanatana Dharma, the traditional name of Hinduism, global. Meaning “eternal way” or “eternal order”, the movement has gained prominence since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014.
“People are interested in sanatana. I wanted to promote it because our parents have taught us the practices. I was curious,” Gupta says.
Evolution of devotion
For Sheena Chawla, 34, the concert was a refreshing reinterpretation of spirituality.
The devotional singer, who has been performing for more than a decade, believes modernising traditional art forms is essential to keep them alive.
“If we keep doing the same old thing, it won’t survive in the long run,” Chawla says. “There has to be evolution, so every generation can find its space.”
That sentiment resonates with Smita Jaiswal, 50, who attended the concert with her daughter.
“I’ve attended bhajan gatherings since childhood, where devotees sit for hours,” she says. “When I first heard of bhajan clubbing, I was apprehensive. But when the tempo rose from slow to fast, our feet just wouldn’t stop moving. From children to adults, everyone was dancing. We didn’t even realise when we started.
“It is a wonderful platform for people to embrace spirituality. I would love to attend something like this again.”
