Bhangra in the Global Bazaar

  By Anjali Gera Roy

The transformation of Bhangra as it moves from the folk to the popular cultural space (6423 words).

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Abstract

Bhangra has been transformed from Punjabi harvest rite to global dance music by the culture industry, often with the connivance of Bhangra practitioners.  Cultural theorists have expressed grave concern over Bhangra’s appropriation and reification and decried the degeneration of musical tastes as reflected in new Bhangra mutants.  Arguing that the moment Bhangra moves from the folk to the popular cultural space, it becomes subject to the rules of popular culture, this article attributes Bhangra’s desacralisation to the field of popular culture.