The stage was awash in indigo and magenta, lighting up an eclectic mix of instruments: electric guitars and drums, but also a harmonium at the centre of it all. Over the next hour, the percussion hit with the insistence of a club beat and each chant seemed to gather pace the way a rock band’s viral chorus does. Around me, people were swaying, clapping, singing back, some with their eyes closed, others serenading each other. Except, the band’s setlist had no rock anthems. Tonight, they were singing bhajans like ‘Achyutam Keshavam’ and ‘Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram’.. At St Andrew’s Auditorium in Mumbai, the energy of a rave met the soundtrack of a puja at home. Surreal on paper, but oddly convincing in person, a Gen Z coded version of spirituality that comfortably straddles kirtan gatherings, tarot circles, bhajan clubbing and crystal exchanges. Barkha Punjabi, a shamanic facilitator with a large Gen Z client base, says, “This generation is more spiritually curious and less inclined to follow beliefs simply because their parents or grandparents did.”. For many young people, practices once tied to family or community structures are now approached almost like creative disciplines: something to explore, test, remix and personalise. “They are questioning, exploring and trying to make sense of spirituality in ways that exist outside what is prescribed,” Punjabi adds.. In recent months, chant-led concerts have begun drawing unexpectedly young audiences. Events featuring London-based kirtan artist and bhakti yoga teacher Radhika Das, the Mumbai-based collective Backstage Siblings and platforms such as Kirtan Mumbai have helped move the format from intimate living rooms into ticketed venues.. For Meghna Siraj—the founder of Megh, a wellness initiative and co-creator of Kirtan Mumbai alongside musician Baldev Maheshwari—this reflects a generation searching for steadiness in an unstable world. “Many young people today feel unmoored—socially, politically and emotionally,” Siraj explains. “Ritual and collective chanting offer a shared moment of grounding. When hundreds of voices chant together, the mind quiets and a natural sense of belonging emerges.”. As these gatherings move from backyards into sophisticated venues, the sound is changing with them. “Blending modern music with kirtan doesn’t mean diluting lineage, if it’s done with awareness and respect,” says Maheshwari. “It can allow people who may never enter a temple or satsang to still find a way in. In this newer format, spirituality can feel immersive and accessible without demanding strict adherence to tradition.”. Not all of this new spirituality arrives with a mic check though. Some of it takes shape in smaller rooms: gathered around a deck of tarot cards or at crystal pop-ups where stones, rings and candles are chosen as much for how they look as for what they supposedly do. If kirtan offers the charge of the collective, these spaces offer symbolism and