PM Modi Impresses Indians With His Musical Skills at Religious Event

Thousands of Indian social media users were impressed when Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed off his musical skills, after India's leader on Wednesday posted a video of himself playing a type of cymbals at a religious gathering in Delhi.

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21 January 2022, 10:04 GMT

The viral video shows the 71-year-old Modi playing the ‘khartal’, an Indian instrument, during a ceremony to commemorate the birth of Saint Ravidas. The instrument is widely used across the subcontinent in religious performances.

Saint Ravidas was a 15th-century poet-saint who was an advocate of purging Hinduism of its caste system, a practice whereby Indian society is socially segregated based on a person's occupation.

The lowest stratum of the Hindu caste system is occupied by sweepers and cleaners - the dalits or untouchables - and temple priests, the brahmins, were at the top of the social hierarchy.

Saint Ravidas’ followers, like their patron saint, have long called for abolishing the discriminatory practice, which is still prevalent in some parts of the predominantly Hindu nation.

The philosopher’s teachings have been included in the Guru Granth Sahib, the main religious scripture of Sikhism.

The followers of Saint Ravidas are found in large numbers in the northern state of Punjab, as well as in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh states.

Several Indian netizens have remarked that the Indian leader’s appearance at events such as Wednesday's was the reason Modi remains so popular in the country.

Prime Minister Modi

Some netizens speculated that Modi’s appearance there could indicate a political message to the people of Punjab, who will vote for a new state government on 20 February.

Prime Minister Modi

Voting to elect a new state legislature is also underway in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, as well as the agricultural state of Punjab.