" Defying the traditionalists, young artistes are quick to defend hybrid bhajans. Songs like Mera Kisse Na Puchiya Haal Ma have outlived the generation gap." Old devotional songs, he insists, have the fragrance of this land: " In bhenthon se zameen ki khushbu aati hai. However, Chanchal, who has done playback for both Aasha and Avtaar, affirms, "Even the young love my original compositions the most. While performing for NRI audiences in New York and Los Angeles, he even tried his hand at fusion: 'O Mother, O Mother, if you are with us, phir kaisa fear'. However, his very own adaptation of the bhang-drenched Rang Barse from Silsila ( 1981), into Ras Barse Tere Bhavan Mein Ma, Ras Barse, was an attempt to appeal to younger devotees. They are mere gimmicks," says Chanchal who has been composing and singing Mata bhajans for over 40 years. "Like the fashion of the day, their popularity changes with the latest blockbuster. Having sung both original compositions and bhajans set to Bollywood tunes, Narendra Chanchal says the latter, though popular, have short-lived appeal. And while Times Music has only well-researched bhajans and Vedic chants set to an eclectic mix of new age music, says Gauri, one needs to be broad-minded enough to accept what is really popular. The trend is but a reflection of the devotional fervour of a country that finds expression in ecstatic, almost trance-like song and dance.
"These popular tunes do help the young connect to God," agrees Gauri Yadwadkar, artistes and repertoire head at Times Music. And not everyone thinks it's a sacrilege. The same track also lends its tune to a Shiv bhajan: Oghad Dani Hein, Bhole Sab Ke Swami Hein. The song is a rage in Salasar Balaji, a popular pilgrimage spot in Churu district of Rajasthan which is dedicated to Lord Hanuman. The title track of Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), Hare Krishna Hare Ram (a racy bhajan in its own right) has been adapted into a Hanuman bhajan : Hanuman Hanuman, Ram Ke Pyare Hanuman. Apart from Mata or the Mother Goddess in her many avatars, several other gods from the Indian pantheon have jazzy compositions devoted to them.
But with the advent of scorching item numbers, world music trends and club remixes, the bhajan, too, has undergone a makeover. And no jagrata, a devotional festival dedicated to the Mother Goddess that lasts through the night, reaches its culmination without an enthused crowd singing Tune Mujhe Bulaya Sherawaliye, Mein Aaya Mein Aaya Sherawaliye, from Aasha (1980) as well as Chalo Bulawa Aaya Hai, Mata Ne Bulaya Hai from Avtaar (1983). In fact, Hindi films first popularized bhajans with the eternal Om Jai Jagadish Hare, Swami Jai Jagadish Hare, from the film Purab Aur Paschim (1970). That popular culture, represented by a flamboyant Bollywood, has seeped into the realms of devotion and mysticism is not a new phenomenon. For, through the incessant chanting of Jai Mata Di by devotees trudging up to the cave-shrine, he heard the strains of his favourite Bollywood number, Mauja Hi Mauja, appropriately changed to Ma Ke Dar Pe Mauja Hi Mauja.
Trekking up 13 km from Katra (Jammu) to Mata Vaishno Devi, 15-year-old Raghav couldn't help but break into a dance.