World Music Day: NEWJ launches new campaign “Rhythm & Raga”; celebrates Indian music’s regional flavors
New Delhi: NEWJ (New Emerging World of Journalism Ltd), brings together artists from different corners of India under a one of a kind campaign- ‘Rhythm & Raga’, for a series of candid conversations on what music means to them personally.
With artists hailing from Maharashtra, Assam, Karnataka, Punjab, West Bengal and Telangana- ‘Rhythm and Raga’ will showcase the unseen and unheard side of the artist through some heartwarming discussions. The lineup of artists includes legendary musicians like Suresh Wadkar, Sudha Raghunathan and Raghu Dixit, to new media favorites like Yashraj Mukhate, Nandy Sisters, Asees Kaur and Antara Chakraborty. Each of them offer a unique glimpse into their world as musicians; the role music has played in each of their lives- showcasing how music can capture hearts beyond languages and regions.
As a “social-first” publisher, NEWJ incorporates stories of all genres under an umbrella platform and is present in thirteen languages namely Hindi, English, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Telugu, Kannada, Punjabi, Odia, Assamese, Urdu, and Malayalam. NEWJ offers content around Current Affairs(NEWJ Rajneeti), Spirituality & Religion (NEWJ Dharohar), Pride of India & Men in Uniform (NEWJ Garv) and Entertainment (NEWJ Filmy).
Founder and Editor-in-Chief, Shalabh Upadhyay, commented on the campaign saying, “NEWJ’s uniqueness lies in the regional diversity it represents through its content offerings in thirteen languages. This World Music Day, we are proud to present a one-of-a-kind campaign, ‘Rhythm and Raga’, which reflects the spirit of India’s “unity in diversity” in the truest sense. We’re honored to have had the opportunity to collaborate with artists that have been musical trailblazers in different languages but have also taken social media by storm with their extraordinary styles. Through their various offerings, they have captured the pulse of India- which is exactly what we aspire to show our audiences.”
Musician and social media sensation Yashraj Mukhate said of the campaign: “Music to me is very spiritual, and I really enjoyed celebrating World Music Day with NEWJ and these other incredible artists.”
Legendary musician Suresh Wadkar added: “The name of the campaign itself reflects the essence of music. Raga is the source of joy and without Rhythm, there is no life. For musicians, Rhythm and Raga is their whole world.”
Musician Raghu Dixit also said: “Thankful to NEWJ for letting me speak my heart out on World Music Day. Music is truly a blessing both for the listeners and for musicians. Music becomes such a strong rope to hold onto when you’re going through your toughest times, it becomes the best background score when you’re having happy times.”
YouTube singing duo Nandy Sisters appreciated the campaign: “Music has no boundaries. A huge round of applause to NEWJ for starting such a wonderful initiative.”
NEWJ aims to scale up its capabilities in visual storytelling with a focus on #BharatFirst, and has aggregated over 11 billion views since inception reaching an audience of 23.3 million across a dozen social media and OTT platforms.
Each artist associated with the campaign has also offered their thoughts of the partnership with NEWJ, and why it is important. You can find these quotes in the annexure below:
ANNEXURE I:
Quotes by artists participating in NEWJ’s Rhythm & Raga Campaign:
Yashraj Mukhate:
“World Music Day – For me, Music is a very spiritual thing and it is really good that everyone is celebrating this day with NEWJ. I really enjoyed talking to you about it so thank you so much for having me”
Raghu Dixit:
“Well thank you so much to NEWJ for letting me speak my heart out today on this world music Day. Music is truly a blessing both for the listeners and for musicians. Music becomes such a great strong rope to hold onto when you’re going through your toughest times, it becomes the best background score when you’re having happy times, it brings memories together when you are old and sometimes you remember a song and you remember people because of a certain song. Though the government has discarded artists as non-essentials, we are the very reason people are actually able to get through life. I feel truly blessed and to all the musicians who have discovered this amazing gift, I wish them all the best”
Suresh Wadkar:
“It’s a beautiful name “Rhythm and Raga”. The name of the campaign itself reflects the essence of music. Raga is the source of joy and without Rhythm, there is no life. For musicians, Rhythm and Raga is their whole world. It has been my pleasure to have this platform to talk and share my experiences with Music. I thank NEWJ for thinking of me for this wonderful campaign”
Nandy Sisters:
“It’s a fantastic initiative. Music really has no boundaries and you’re proving it with this beautiful initiative of yours. There’s no better medium than music to unite humanity. A huge round of applause to NEWJ for starting such a wonderful initiative. It has our full support.”
Antara Chakraborty:
“First of all, very very best wishes to team NEWJ and the Rhythm and Raga initiative is amazing. Grateful to be on this special segment. I enjoyed celebrating this day with you all. A very happy World Music Day to all the music lovers”
Sreerama Chandra:
“I would like to wish the whole team of the campaign, Rhythm and Raga all the very best for your future and you’ll go a long way because I know you are connecting people with different languages without any barriers. Thank you to NEWJ. It was fun jamming with you. It is always good to talk to those who make an effort to know more about you”