S2E68: India’s $70 billion spiritual market fuelled by bhajan clubbing

About this episode

The episode explores the rise of bhajan clubbing in India, blending devotional music with contemporary styles and its cultural implications.

Discover how bhajan clubbing is transforming devotional music in India. Synopsis: Every first Friday of the month, The Straits Times catches up with its foreign correspondents about life and trends in the countries they're based in. In this episode, host Li Xueying discusses with Debarshi Dasgupta the recent surge in bhajan clubbing - the fusion of devotional Hindu music with contemporary styles like EDM and rock. This cultural phenomenon, exemplified by recent concerts in Delhi and other cities, explores how young Indians are finding a modern form of spiritual engagement, stress relief, and social belonging. It has received government endorsement from Prime Minister Modi and the BJP as part of a Hindu religious revival, which includes state funding for concerts and events. This cultural shift also addresses social acceptance and generational changes in religious practices. Highlights (click/tap above): 1:18 How bhajan clubbing draws different age groups and its impact on faith practices 3:41 Influence of political figures like Modi endorsing this musical trend 6:35 The correlation between stress relief, youth identity, and spiritual needs 11:13 BJP’s promotion of Hinduism…

People in this episode

Host: Li Xueying

Guest: Debarshi Dasgupta

Topics covered

• bhajan clubbing
• devotional music
• youth culture
• Hindu revival
• government endorsement
• spiritual engagement

Keywords

• bhajan clubbing
• devotional music
• Hinduism
• youth identity
• spiritual engagement
• government support
• cultural phenomenon

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BJP

Places: India, Delhi

More episodes of Asian Insider

• S2E75: Why Beijing now sets the agenda for US-China ties · June 12, 2026 · 31 min
• S2E74: Nature or nurture? What is behind the ‘Eldest Daughter Syndrome’ · June 4, 2026 · 15 min
• S2E74: Deals and words: Reading the tea leaves for the ‘historic’ Xi-Trump summit · May 21, 2026 · 27 min
• S2E73: No big, fat hugs: Trump, Xi will have a summit of careful smiles · May 12, 2026 · 18 min
• S2E72: What cues India can take from China to fix its foul air and water · May 7, 2026 · 30 min
• S2E71: The mystery of Chongqing grilled fish’s origin story - and why it matters · April 30, 2026 · 19 min