Women's Day 2025: To the goddess inside

Comprising of ten songs, KALI delves into themes of identity, resistance, and the natural world

While sifting through playlists on music streaming platforms, it is rare to come across an artiste whose voice feels like it has refused to be confined - one that embraces its roots while continuously reinventing itself. But if lucky, one might stumble upon Ditty's music.

"I have always believed that our personal realities are deeply connected to the times we live in," shares Aditi Veena, a New Delhi-born and Berlin-based singer-songwriter who goes by the stage name Ditty. "Everything we do is shaped by what's happening around us. The inception of any music that I create is, therefore, always drawn from personal experiences that naturally lead me to explore bigger themes."

Ditty's forthcoming album, KĀLĪ, set for release on 7 March 2025, is a bold artistic statement. Comprising ten songs, the album delves into themes of identity, resistance, and the natural world. The title track, Kali, is deeply personal, shaped by her experiences with colourism. "Growing up in Delhi, I was constantly subjected to the harshness of colourism, and even more so after moving to Germany," she notes.

Even as many South Asian women break free from colonial legacies and reclaim agency over their skin colour, colour prejudice continues to impact many lives. In this space, KĀLĪ - written and sung in Hindi - takes on multiple meanings, including ‘darkness' and the Hindu goddess. The album blends Ditty's personal experiences with her deep-rooted passion for climate advocacy, praising the natural world through music.

"After high school, I decided to go to art school, but I quickly realised it was too abstract for me, so I dropped out and switched to architecture school instead, which I thoroughly enjoyed," she shares. "Much like my architectural practice, which focused on climate responsiveness and ecological restoration, my music also deeply engages with these themes."

As an architect, Ditty spent a significant part of her career in Sri Lanka. It was during this time that she wrote So Real, a love song that was recently released as a single. The song was inspired by her time as part of a large collective of artistes in Colombo, an experience that made her "fall in love with herself in an abstract way" by pushing her to express parts of herself she hadn't before.

In 2016, Ditty began playing music on the streets of Colombo at night to challenge the fear of feeling unsafe in public spaces. "I grew up in Delhi, where sexual harassment and eve-teasing are unfortunately common in public spaces. In both Delhi and Sri Lanka, I was groped on public transport multiple times," she recalls.

Till date, women are repeatedly told to dress appropriately, avoid unsafe places, and stay indoors at night for their own safety. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) disclosed data claiming that there were approximately 55 cases of crimes against women recorded in 2022 every hour.

"Being subjected to this kind of harassment strengthened my resolve to reclaim agency over my own safety," she says. This led her to start Streets for Us, a project with Nepalese-Canadian filmmaker Lakshya Dhungana.

"Every night, we would go onto the streets and play music. Lakshya would project visuals of women being free and enjoying their freedom. I had a day job, and at night, I would do this." The project toured cities across Sri Lanka, India, and Nepal, travelling by train to perform and reclaim public spaces.

But the journey was not without challenges. "During our tour, Lakshya was once arrested at Juhu Beach in Mumbai because she wasn't allowed to play music on the streets. The authorities took her camera and attempted to destroy her footage. People were just really aggressive with us." In another disturbing incident, Ditty recalls, "There was a man who drove up to me while I was standing at a bus stand. He took out his penis and tried to get me into his car."

Despite these experiences, she describes the project as a powerful way to reclaim space. "I felt more protected behind my guitar," she says. Reclaiming spaces has directly impacted her music. "It's made me more vocal," she says. "It's also pushed me to reclaim spaces where women aren't welcome - to go out and be there, despite the risks. In a way, these experiences made me a stronger feminist."

KĀLĪ is an audio-visual project that brings together artistes form many creative realms. "For me, it is more than just an album - it is a statement of reclaiming identity, resistance, and reverence for the natural world" she notes.