NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday joined a gathering of youngsters for a ‘bhajan clubbing’ event in the capital, singing and clapping along to devotional music as the youngsters joined performers in bhajans dedicated to Lord Ram and Lord Hanuman.
The event was organised to mark the 110th birth anniversary of Sangh ideologue Deendayal Upadhyay and was held at a park opposite the BJP headquarters. It brought together a predominantly young audience, including members of the NextGen and Gen Z communities, in a concert-style setting that combined traditional devotional music with contemporary presentation.
Modi was clapping to the rhythm and playing a tambourine-like instrument during a bhajan dedicated to Lord Ram. The participants sang along, and joined the performances.
Bhajans including “Sri Ram Jai Ram Jai Ram”, “Sita Ram” and “Bolo Radhe Radhe, Aarti Kunj Bihari Ki” were performed. The devotional compositions featured references to Lord Ram and Sita as well as episodes from the traditional story of the Sita Swayambar.
“It was a blessed evening for us, as we had a chance of both meeting PM Modi and listening along with him to bhajans on Lord Hanuman and Lord Ram,” a young woman who attended the event said. The programme also featured singers associated with the recently released film Hanuman Anash, which, according to its organisers, depicts the divine life of Neem Karoli Baba. ‘Bhajan clubbing’ is a relatively new format in which traditional devotional music is presented in a high-energy, concert-like environment.
The strong Gen Z presence gave the gathering a contemporary character, with traditional Hindu devotional music presented in a format aimed at engaging the younger audiences. Modi later described the bhajan clubbing experience as “spectacular”.
