Celebrate Ganeshotsav and Maharashtrian pride with this playlist of Marathi fusion bangers that are taking the regional music and culture to a wider audience
Representation Pic
On women folk
ADVERTISEMENT
Zingaat may have been the anthem of every Ganpati pandal in the last five years, but this year, you’ll most likely hear this new banger blaring across the city’s pandals. Marathi soul gets an electronic punch in a new track, Bayo, in which power vocalist Cyli Khare, rapper Srushti Tawade and famous electronic act Komorebi come together to celebrate the strength and grace of Maharashtrian women.
Think pink
The viral track Gulabi Sadi is all the rage on social media, with everyone from actor Madhuri Dixit Nene to choreographer Remo D’Souza seen shaking a leg to the catchy number on social media. The Marathi track—about a girl dressed in a pink saree who tells the singer to click her photos since she looks beautiful—has burst into the mainstream consciousness and is likely to be a popular number at Ganpati pandals too, we wager.
Beats and rhymes
Multi-lingual rapper Saurabh Abhyankar, whose stage name is 100RBH, is best known for his electrifying Marathi rhymes. With his new EP Zindagi, he hopes to reach out to a wider audience. We can just imagine the heavy bass thumps of Marathi track Pahije blaring from loudspeakers in Ganpati processions. 100RBH’s rhymes and storytelling are just as powerful, and the track Kramank 1 is more introspective, featuring a sample of saint Kabir’s poetry.
Sant Tukaram rocks
Progressive rock guitar riffs meet melodious notes from the harmonium in folk fusion band Abhanga Repost’s song, Bhondu, which brings the wisdom of Sant Tukaram’s abhanga poetry to modern listeners. Sample these lyrics: “Aise kaise jhale bhondu, karma karoni mhanti sadhu (See how they became imposters they commit crimes and call themselves sadhus)”.