Anuradha Paudwal is one of India’s most celebrated voices in devotional music. Besides bringing bhajans and aartis to millions of households, the veteran singer also made a significant mark on Hindi film music, delivering several memorable songs in the 1990s for films such as Aashiqui, Dil Hai Ke Manta Nahin and Sadak. Now, her daughter Kavita Paudwal is carrying forward her mother’s legacy, carving out a space of her own in the devotional music genre.

Kavita recently kickstarted Kirtan Klub, a fusion format that blends traditional bhajans with contemporary elements such as guitars and drums. In an interview with SCREEN, she opened up about her inspiration behind the idea. She also spoke about her childhood, and growing up with Anuradha Paudwal.

Long before audiences heard her soulful voice, Kavita Paudwal grew up witnessing her mother’s musical talent at home. “My earliest memory of my mother as a singer is not watching her as a public persona, but her singing the Bhagwad Geeta at 5 am every morning, when her music journey had just started. She used to sing Lata Mangeshkar’s Bhagwad Geeta version. That voice and ambience is still in my heart. It is a very strong memory. That overpowers everything that I’ve seen till now,” she recalled.

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The idea behind Kirtan Klub

Kavita Paudwal, who recently brought her Kirtan Klub format to the SNDT Regional Youth Festival in Mumbai, opened up about the inspiration behind the concept. “As far as kirtans are concerned, there’s nothing like young, old, middle-aged, man, woman, foreigner, Indian, there’s no such bias. The idea is to keep repeating something till it takes you into a meditative space. I feel that this experience is good for all the age groups. Kirtan Klub is a concept to make you feel connected to God. It is happy, light, and simple, with a lot of music, joy, and fun,” she shared.

Kavita further added, “We (Kavita and Anuradha Paudwal) discuss everything and she was very happy when I told her about the idea, and said that it’s what she’s been doing till now, just packaged in a different way. The name Kirtan Klub was also suggested by her. She has a very acute sense of what works in the market.”

When asked about the one advice given my her mother Anuradha that will always stay with her, Kavita replied, “Her journey has been a great inspiration for me, both as a mother and an artiste. Her spiritual journey has also taken place in front of my eyes. What I have learnt from Anuradha ji is maintaining a certain decorum and dignity while presenting spiritual works to people. There’s a fine line between enjoying and something becoming offensive.”

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Over the years, Kavita Paudwal has lent her voice to several bhajans and aartis, including Shree Lakshmi Amritwani, Gayatri Mantra and Mahavir Dhun. But alongside carving her own path in devotional music, she has also had to contend with the pressure of carrying forward the legacy of her mother Anuradha Paudwal. “Like every other person who belongs to an illustrious family, I also feel the pressure of living up to her legacy. You always want to contribute in a way that can keep your family name intact. Having said that, the social and media environment was very different when my mother was at her peak as compared to now,” she said.

“She is a very kind person, she will never critique my singing. But, if she thinks something is going to take away from the performance, she gives her suggestions. She voices her opinion gently,” the singer concluded.