Indian-American singer Raveena Aurora on paying tribute to her motherland at Lollapalooza India

In an exclusive interview, singer-songwriter Raveena Aurora reflects on her love for dreamy Bollywood music, tackling topics like sexuality and identity politics in her songs, and performing in India for the first time

With a fairy-like twirl and a twinkle in her eyes, Raveena Aurora floats on stage at Lollapalooza India, in Mumbai this past weekend. In an iridescent, shimmery dress, with her hair tied in a wavy ponytail, the 29-year-old Indian-American singer, holds onto a mic covered with pink and purple flowers, and croons one of her most popular songs, “Honey...,” her dreamy voice washing over the crowd.

For Raveena, performing in India is a dream come true. Her music exists in between genres, pulling influences from R&B, pop, and old-school Bollywood. “In my own journey as an artist, and visually, I love combining Bollywood influences. It’s the dreamiest, most ethereal space. It’s what I was raised on, it just feels so natural,” she says, in an exclusive interview with The Hindu.  

Her latest concept album, Asha’s Awakening, follows Asha, a Punjabi space princess, exploring love, loss, modern society and herself. The Indian touch is undeniable, with soft taps on the tabla introducing the song “Time Flies...,” and a chorus in Hindi on “Kismet...” 

“We are going to sing in Hindi now,” she cries out to the audience. “ Ek, do, theen, char, chalo na, mere saath:” she sings the start to “Kismet,” adding the shimmy-esque moves and dramatic sighs that defined Hindi films in the 60s and 70s.

Raveena’s artistic strength lies in her ability to pair soothing sounds with powerful, soul-baring lyrics. “There’s a certain sweetness, but also incredible strength and passion to Indian women. I love exploring that dichotomy in my music. So much of the sounds we hear from famous Indian women in music like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, have such an enchanting and innocent quality about them.  But what we go through as brown women is tough. It’s really insane what we’re put through in these bodies, as women. So I try to speak to that experience.” 

Her songs have tackled topics like sexual assault, heartbreak, sexuality and identity politics. The raw quality of her lyrics and her melodic style create something of a syrupy safe space, where loving, learning and losing come together, without feeling cloying. Raveena says having music as a way to process and reflect on these experiences “saved” her. “Everything I do is based on this healing quality, it’s like about soothing the self and inspiring other people to love themselves deeper and care for themselves and understand themselves better, as I do that myself.”

Raveena is unabashedly proud of her Indian roots. Raised by Sikh-practicing parents, she grew up between New York and Connecticut in a rich Indian immigrant community. “I grew up in a very brown space. I just felt like if I had something to offer to music, it was this experience in both cultures. It’s definitely a challenge because musically it’s so different, there’s literally different scales, and entirely different sounds and rhythms and, and patterns. But I think that’s the beautiful challenge of being a musician.”