Rob's Album of the Week

Artist: Aradhna
Album: Deep Jale (2000)

At our September regional network meeting (of local Alliance pastors), I was asking the Tamil church planter if he had a CD of his songs I could borrow, with the traditional Indian sound. Pastor Brent piped up and said he had one too. Later that day, he introduced me to the music of this album. It's incredible.

Aradhna (Hindi for "adoration") is essentially 3 Anglo guys who were either born or grew up in India (my bet is that they're MKs) and were drawn to the traditional styles of Indian music. They are often supported by Indian friends on instruments such as the tabla (a traditional drum native to the Middle East and South India). Chris Hale, who sings in Hindi (he's fluent in Hindi and Nepali), plays sitar and has obviously become quite adept at it. The other two have excellent musical instincts as well, and their music is carefully crafted and very high quality.

What do they sing? They sing worship songs composed mostly by Indian brothers and sisters in Christ. They've adapted the melodies, so you hear sitar, guitar, and bass as well as violin. The final product is gorgeous and worshipful. Here's Chris Hale explaining the kind of songs they sing:

"The path (marga) of Bhakti is one of loving devotion and complete surrender to God. In this ancient tradition, music and worship play a fundamental role in the expressions of the bhakta (devotee). These devotees might be a few people gathered around a dholak drum player in a camphor-lit temple, professional singers in a concert hall, or simply a family gathered in the home. Their songs are called Bhajans (songs of devotion). Bhajans can be heard sung late into the night or in early morning hours all over the world wherever there are bhaktas.

"Over the last few centuries some poet-singers of the Bhakti tradition in India have become followers of Christ. In keeping with their cultural heritage, they began to compose bhajans to Yeshu Krist. Though the majority of Indian Christians have chosen to embrace the worship style of the West, there are an increasing number of Indians as well as westerners that are discovering the depth of worship and devotion expressed in bhajans."

I particularly find their slower songs wonderful. They're meditative and have drawn me into a deeper devotion and love for Jesus. Check out their website (which has some mp3s you can listen to).