WATCH: Devotees rain bundles of notes on Gujarat bhajan singer, leave internet divided

A bhajan singer in Gujarat was buried under piles of cash after devotees emptied sacks and bundles of currency notes onto the stage during a religious programme in Junagadh district, with videos of the spectacle going viral on social media and triggering a heated online debate.

In several clips circulating online, attendees can be seen walking towards the stage carrying bags filled with currency notes before showering the money over performers as devotional singing continued. The videos showed heaps of cash rapidly accumulating around the singer while organisers and volunteers attempted to manage the growing piles on stage.

The incident reportedly took place during a bhajan and dayro programme in Gujarat’s Junagadh district. Dayro events are a popular cultural and devotional tradition in parts of the state, particularly in the Saurashtra region, where music performances are often combined with fundraising activities.

How did the internet react?

The viral footage drew mixed reactions online, with many social media users criticising the public display of wealth. “This is such an awful practice all over Gujarat, particularly in Saurashtra. Showering money, actual notes, on popular singers looks cheap because, here, one’s materialistic instincts are at work. Why monetise your feelings for the singer? If you like his or her music, pay privately, donate to needy without showing off your wealth. Fund institutions of music. Ahir girls hostel definitely need funds. We understand. Pay them in a decent way. Sanity is needed. Urgently,” one user wrote on X.

Another user commented, “This is not an offering - this is arrogant display of illegal wealth.”

“And still people die with hunger in this country!” a third user remarked.

However, others defended the practice, arguing that money collected at such events is often channelled towards charitable and community initiatives rather than personal enrichment.

“This dayro, and these money is used in jivdaya or other social causes. This is not consumed by any individual nor these comes from individual. These cultural fund raising,” one user wrote online.