Salim Merchant opens up about the new season of Bhoomi

Outside of their film music career, composers Salim-Sulaiman have spearheaded a quiet, enduring mission — to keep India’s folk, classical, and devotional traditions alive by making them resonate with a new generation. Their annual project Bhoomi is the result of this vision. Over its multiple seasons, it has seen music legends and new voices come together to create qawwalis, bhajans, and folk songs that are compiled into an annual album. “India is a treasure of traditions and cultures. Somewhere in the flood of commercial music, our folk and identity were getting lost. Bhoomi is my way of reflecting our roots while embracing the now,” begins Salim.

Now in its sixth consecutive year since its revival in 2020, Bhoomi 2025 promises a stirring line-up. The album includes a Gujarati Krishna pop track by Parthiv Gohil, a romantic ballad by Shaan, a high energy Sonu Nigam-Paradox dance track, and Shringaar by Shankar Mahadevan, in which he pays tribute to late Zakir Hussain.

Bhoomi’s beauty lies as much in its celebration of the country’s diverse musical heritage as in the instinctive collaborations. Salim reveals that he stumbled upon Kashmiri folk artiste Noor Mohammad through local recommendations and roped him in for the album. “The universe makes me meet these artistes,” he smiles. This democratic spirit also defines his approach to music-making. Legends like Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal team up with younger names like OAFF, Paradox, Burrah, and Krish Mondal. “I don’t distinguish between newcomers and icons. We’re all students of music,” Salim says.

Every season carries devotional pieces. Bhoomi 2025 includes the bhajan Dwarka Darbar. To Salim, the album reflects his own as well as the country’s plural identity. “I’m a Muslim, but I’m a multi-faith artiste. I’ve sung qawwalis, composed bhajans, celebrated Mahashivratri and Eid, visited Vrindavan, Varanasi, and Jyotirling temples. My music reflects my personality — secular, pluralistic, and rooted in devotion.” 

Looking ahead, the composer hopes to turn Bhoomi into a pan-India concert series. For him, it’s not just an album or a show. He states, “It’s a movement. I’m doing this for my soul, my culture, and my country.”