For over two decades, Salim and Sulaiman Merchant have been creating space for India’s folk, devotional, and classical sounds within contemporary music. Their annual project, Bhoomi, has become a platform where traditions meet modern production, drawing listeners to sounds that are often overlooked in today’s trend-driven landscape.
The sixth season of Bhoomi, set for 2025, carries this ethos forward with a line-up that spans generations and genres. Collaborations include Sonu Nigam with Paradox, Shreya Ghoshal with Papon, Shankar Mahadevan, Shaan, Hariharan, Arijit Singh, OAFF, Burrah, and several regional artists such as Pawandeep Rajan, Noor Mohammad, and Hansika Pareek.
This balance of established voices and emerging talent reflects the duo’s vision for Bhoomi. “I don’t distinguish between legends and newcomers… we’re all students of music,” says Salim Merchant. For Sulaiman, the project has always been about following instinct: “We’ve tried folk, devotional, pop, hip hop, EDM, it’s about exploring and discovering without limits.”
Since its first release in 1999, Bhoomi has grown into a catalogue of nearly sixty songs, reviving traditions such as Mughal-era bandishes and regional wedding songs, while also producing contemporary hits like Chhaila, Mayavi, and Haq Ali. The duo now hopes to extend the project into a live concert series, taking these songs beyond the studio to wider audiences.
