Seasonal Trends: Kawanriya Music; Bhagwati Prasad
Since Delhi is on the route of the Kanwarias ( or pilgrims going to Hardwar and carrying Ganga water on their shoulders, walking on foot), it wears a new look in the month of Sawan (one of the monsson months). From Shahdara to Karol Bagh to Dhaula Kuan, people carrying Kanwars can be seen chanting Bol Bam. The endless stream of Kanwariyas forms a seasonal , mobile market and the music companies have responded to it by releasing religious songs performed by sung by both famous and unknown singers. Come the season and T-Series, Ganga, Sonoton, Sonotek, Shisodiya, Chanda, all these companies would have released their own cassettes. These cassettes are not limited to Hindi only but are available in Bhojpuri, Haryanvi, Maithili and several other dialects catering to a growing migrant consumer base in Delhi and elsewhere. Among the migrants from the east, Bhojpuri songs sell most. One reason for the popularity of these cassettes is the fact that popular local singers are used. In Bhojpuri Kaanwar cassettes you will find that Bharat Sharma Vyas, Manoj Tiwary, Guddu Rangila, Madan Rai, Sunil Chhaila Bihari, Mridul Tiwari, Sharda Sinha and Tripta Shakya sing most of the songs. The companies serve a good mix of religious and secular music.
For example, T-Series has cut a number of non-film audio-cassettes containing folk songs, humorous songs, festival related songs and several other genres of music. T-Series has created such a distinct market in devotional songs that no other company can challenge it. In this way these smaller local markets have come in to the hands of T-Series. According to a salesman the trend that T-Series has created is benefiting all the salesmen, shopkeepers, dealers, apart from the company itself.









