“Today, India is an interesting juxtaposition and my music is reflective of that. Though we perform folk poetry and folk styles of singing, we present it in a global form with rock guitars and drums,” says Raghu Dixit. The Bengaluru-based singer and composer will be the only Indian artiste performing at EtoEtno, a festival of global folk and ethno-fusion styles, in Russia this weekend.

According to Raghu, the invite to EtoEtno was due to the success of the Silk Road Festival of Modern Tradition conceptualised by Slobodan Trkulja, a musician from Serbia, and founder of the band Slobodan Trkulja & Balkanopolis.

The second edition of the Silk Road Festival which took place in March this year had musicians from China, Russia, India, Bulgaria, Syria, Uzbekistan, and other nations performing. “Each one sang their own compositions, two or three songs in their regional languages. The show celebrated the diversity of the world’s states and cultures coming together and the artistic director of Russia’s EtoEtno festival wanted a similar lineup of musicians to perform in their country.”

“Slobodan and I have been friends for over a decade now and ever since we met at theRainforest World Music Festival in Malaysia, we’ve been wanting to work together,” says Raghu, adding he will perform at the EtoEtno festival solo, before heading to London where he will perform at Southbank Centre with his band.

Slobodan, who is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer, believes the purpose of the Silk Road Festival is, “to remind ourselves how beautiful the world is”. “How infinitely different we all are and yet, essentially the same humans that carry the spark of the divine within,” he says, speaking from his home in Serbia.

His reasons for structuring the festival on diversity is two-fold, Slobodan continues. “Combining different traditions, songs and styles from distant places is what Silk Road is about. Secondly, while wars are raging everywhere, we fight for beauty through music. We’ve forgotten our purpose on earth — we fight for beauty because beauty will save the world.”

“Slobodan wanted me to bring the poetry that I sing from the saints of India as he believes that is representative of my work. I will be presenting hymns by Kabir Das and Santa Shishunala Sharifa of Karnataka,” he says, adding that songs from his album Shakkar (released in 2024) will also be performed as well as new material in multiple languages — Kannada, Tamil, Telugu and Hindi among others.

The lineup for his show in the UK, which will see artistes from all of Southeast Asia performing, will be similar, he says. Despite the influences of multiple cultures via “social media, movies and music”, Raghu believes “we are very proud of who we are and where we come from, and our roots.”

He believes his meeting with musicians from other countries and his travels have helped shape his music which cannot be categorised as party numbers or romantic ballads. “We are philosophical in our approach, the wise men of India have left behind beautiful poetry brimming with messages that are far more relevant today than ever before,” says the singer, adding that, “over the years my purpose too, has changed”.

“If, through my music, I put faith back in people’s hearts and help them believe they are strong enough to deal with whatever they are facing; if my music is a thread they can hold on to when they are in despair, I believe I would have fulfilled my journey.”

The artiste who co-founded Glass Onion Therapy, a mental health initiative in Bengaluru, says this is his way of “paying it forward”.

“My therapists were extremely kind, compassionate, and generous in helping me heal over a period of time. What we went through during the pandemic has made me evolve into who I am and the purpose I go on stage now. Earlier, it was for the money and fame, but I’ve come to realise we can be heroes on stage but those heroes are never of any real help. Everything is transient and beauty is in the moment.”

The singer who directs and scripts his own music videos, believes in “relating to my audience even if it means being vulnerable”. Raghu talks about his song ‘Alemaari’ as a representation of his journey to becoming a better person.

“If life teaches us to become kinder, more compassionate, and more patient with each other, letting others live and breathe like we want to, then, we have fulfilled our purpose. We should leave this world better people than we came into it.”

Raghu Dixit will represent India at EtoEtnoin St. Petersburg, Russia on June 27 and 28, following which he will play with The Raghu Dixit Project at South Bank Centre, the United Kingdom on July 3.