Mumbai, April 11 – Musician Shankar Mahadevan, along with Ehsaan Noorani and Loy Mendonsa, sought divine blessings at the Akshardham Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey, USA.
Shankar posted a series of images on Instagram from the temple visit. In one picture, he is seen posing alongside Ehsaan and Loy with the temple's "swamijis".
The other two photographs featured only Shankar, who called it a "blessing" to start the tour with the temple visit.
"Blessed to start our tour by visiting the Akshardham Swaminarayan temple in New Jersey! What a soulful experience! I thank all the swamijis and devotees who showered their love and affection on us, and we received their blessings.
"Gratitude!! Jai Swaminarayan. Thank you Pujya Nilkanthseva Swami. Thank you Pujya Pranavmuni Swami.
The BAPS Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Jersey is a Hindu temple built between 2015 and 2023, which venerates Swaminarayan, the highest manifestation of Purushottama.
Speaking about Mahadevan, who is part of the Shankar–Ehsaan–Loy trio that creates music for Indian films. He gained early fame as an Indi-pop star with his fusion of Carnatic, Hindustani, and Jazz music. At that time, his non-film album, "Breathless," topped the Indian music charts in 1998. He won one Grammy Award and received three nominations.
Mahadevan has lent his vocal prowess and compositions to many Bollywood songs that blend classical depth with modern energy, including "Mitwa" from Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, "Kajra Re" from Bunty Aur Babli, and "Gallan Goodiyaan" from Dil Dhadakne Do, to name a few.
Speaking about Ehsaan, he started as a freelance guitarist for many composers, including Louis Banks, Ashok Patki, Ronnie Desai and Gary Lawyer, among others. He is the first guitarist from India to be endorsed by Fender guitars.
Meanwhile, Loy, who started his career by composing the signature tune for 'The World This Week' show on Doordarshan, before becoming a music composer, he played piano and keyboards for famous Indian music composers such as A. R. Rahman and Nadeem-Shravan.