A SONG OF DEVOTION

Shivali Bhammer gave up a lucrative career in equity trading to follow her teenage passion of singing devotional hymns from the Indian tradition

- Neha Kirpal

Motivational speaker, actor, writer, equity derivatives broker, and singer of devotional hymns – 33-year-old Shivali Bhammer wears many hats. Based in London and New York, she is the youngest and only artist to ever be signed by Sony Music BMG for bhajans (hymns). Her devotional albums, The Bhajan Project (2010) and Urban Temple (2012), reached the top position on the iTunes world chart. Interestingly, Shivali gave up a career in equity trading to become a devotional singer.

Born and raised in London, Shivali comes from a family that is philosophical and secular at the same time. Her foray into spiritual music happened because of her great grandmother and great aunts, and she started making music at the age of 15. Shivali wanted to give bhajans an urban modern twist, so that people could identify with them. At the age of 22, she pitched the idea to Sony Music, and it worked. Shivali ended up being nominated for two Global Indian Music Awards at the age of 23 and was listed among the Top 25 under 25 South Asian Artists in England. “When I look back on that it was a magical moment, where the universe did most of the work, I had just done the preparation and arrived on time,” she says.

“IF YOU TAKE OWNERSHIP OF YOUR OWN THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, IT MEANS YOU CAN MOVE THROUGH CHALLENGES”