Singer-songwriter Aditi Veena said her song and the title of her latest album, 'Kali', is an ode to her breaking the shackles of the belief that bound her for most of her growing up years: because she is dark, she is ugly. The musician, now based out of Berlin, is back in Europe after touring India, promoting her album. "Kali is a love letter to the earth and a beacon of hope in the times that we live in," said Aditi to PTI, over voice notes exchanged via WhatsApp.
Last December, when she performed at Freedom Park in Bengaluru, as part of Kantha, a flagship sub-festival at BLR Hubba 2024 that organised 16 days of music at the historic park, it became clear that the song went beyond personal. Even in the acoustic version of 'Kali' that she sang at the festival, accompanied by hand-picked guitar, double bass and keyboards, the song was clearly a celebration she was drumming up for the countless women who stood their ground despite societal pressures. Quite naturally, Delhi-born Aditi, aka Ditty , her on-stage moniker, chose International Women's Day to release her 10-song album, 'Kali', globally.
Those who have been following Aditi's work know that she may ground her song with her personal experiences, but she always connects them to a bigger picture. A genre that she calls ' Earth songs ', which she has been bookmarking as her own since her very first song, 'Daddy's Little Girl'. Her first song is not only a eulogy to her father but also nature.
In fact, in her debut album, 'P.
