Oct 2024 - Aruna Sairam

Last Sunday I went to see Aruna Sairam’s concert in Barbican Hall, London. The concert was part of Darbar Festival, one of the largest Indian classical music festivals outside of India.

I never predicted I would love Indian classical music, I love BTS the Korean boy band - to be fair, never thought I would love them either! But the advert kept popping on my social media until I listened to a snippet and thought This lady raps, I really like it!

Long story short, Aruna is a fantastic artist, her singing is melodic and tonal, her voice is deep and distinctive.

Here is a description of the Darbar Festival from the official festival source:

“The DNA of Indian classical music is rooted in nature - ragas and talas are closely associated with animals, birds, weather and seasons, delivering a wholesome and holistic experience to enhance one’s well being.”

In any case, even with not understanding a word of Indian languagle, I was mesmerised for the whole two hours. The lady can rap and sing and hold the tune and keep you immersed in her world for a long time. And it wasn’t just me, all 2000 of us on a sunny London Sunday morning.

A tiny sample of what Aruna Sairam does, thank you to the original video owners.