When someone mentions Diwali (Deepavali), I am instantly transported to the smell of pakoras frying in hot mustard oil, the sight of old fairy lights flickering — taking their sweet time because Papa refuses to throw them out — and, most of all, the sound of music from all over the subcontinent.
A Nepali song I found when living in the Himalayas, a folk Punjabi song that was my Aunty’s favourite, a new Goan-English song, or the good old Bollywood banger: South Asian music is as vast as the stories it holds, the identity it carries and the fusion it has received from navigating history, diaspora, and migration.
I await this year’s Diwali, sitting thousands of miles away, eagerly waiting to be reunited with family and friends years after COVID lockdowns kept us apart.
Here are some artists that make me feel at home away from home:
Joy Crookes
Of Bangladeshi and Irish heritage, Joy Crookes has had me rooting for her ever since her debut album, Skin, dropped with an album cover of her dressed in a gold body cast designed by Pakistani artist Misha Japanwala.
Crookes’ deep, silky voice perfectly blended in with alternative R&B, and lyrics like ‘Feet don’t fail me now, I got to stand my ground’ gifted me with a whole new appreciation and love for young South Asian women who resist stereotypes and embrace self-identification through music. But mostly, what a voice. Her visionary videos, often an ode to her South Asian heritage, are not to be missed.
Priya Ragu
Born in Switzerland to Sri Lankan Tamil parents, Priya Ragu is heading only upwards and onwards. Mixing Kollywood samples with her Tamil heritage proudly taking centre stage, I’d play her anytime of the day — but even more fondly for an evening chai.
Melding R&B, soul and the Tamil music she grew up with, Ragu has self-named her sound ‘Ragu Wavy’. My current favourite from Ragu is Forgot About; a must addition to when the Diwali party is over, and you’re just left with that one friend with whom silence is also beautiful. I have a feeling Ragu wanted it that way.
Parvyn
Punjabi Australian singer Parvyn Kaur Singh has been at the forefront of bringing South Asian blend to the Australian music scene since the early 2010s with the band The Bombay Royale, where they seamlessly combined funk, disco, and pop with classical compositions and quintessential retro Bollywood tracks.
Also recently featured in the 2023 Polite Society, Parvyn’s work is a testament to the South Asian diaspora’s ongoing exploration of roots through sound. You best play Parvyn’s What You See at the Diwali dinner for good vibes and a rich tapestry of two worlds colliding.
Yung Singh
Often touted to be one of the most exciting DJs on the European circuit, Yung Singh will go anywhere from grime to jungle to DnB mixed with Punjabi folk to Bhangra to hip hop and everything in between and beyond. As someone who has to play classic Punjabi mixes at a party, Singh’s fusion of the old and new from the motherland is my especially favourite.
Refusing to be boxed and proud of his Punjabi-Sikh heritage, his playful renditions of timeless Punjabi songs are my absolute for when that Desi party is peaking.
ASHWARYA
Indian-born Melbourne native, ASHWARYA, found her way to me through her 2020 single BIRYANI. Fusing rap, pop, bhangra drumming and R&B, I immensely enjoyed how she plays with beat changes and makes a soundscape her own. Original, alternative and confident in her experimentation, ASHWARYA is an artist you should explore more of.
Currently digging her single Enough — lyrics “I wanna see your light in a ghost town” hauntingly sum up Diwali blues for those who might not be able to go home this year.
Arooj Aftab
The list would be incomplete without mentioning the deeply romantic Arooj Aftab. The first ever Pakistani artist to win a Grammy, Aftab’s Mohabbat, no matter how many times played, has been healing for me.
Longing for lost love and reminiscing about the could-have-beens, Aftab’s work is deeply rooted in Sufism, Hindustani classical music weaved with jazz and electronica. Even a year later, I still listen to Aey Na Balam featuring the iconic Anoushka Shankar just as fondly.
dhruv
Possibly no other South Asian singer has seen unprecedented TikTok success like the Singapore-raised dhruv. Easy, soulful, and nostalgic, dhruv’s songs often play with what’s lost and why more is to be found. His double take, a slow-burning songlet, has become a queer anthem, and there’s a certain honesty in his work that is fresh and quite underrated.
My all-time favourite of dhruv is grateful, I’ll be playing it on a loop as I board my flight to see family on Diwali. “I feel so grateful, so fucking grateful”.
Dilpreet is a Sydney-based independent journalist focusing on gender, film, caste and culture and is currently working as the media lead at 4A Centre for Contemporary Asian Art.
