The story of Colonial Cousins, the album PM Modi presented to the Australian PM | Art-and-culture News
3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jul 14, 2026 03:32 PM On his recent visit to Australia, PM Narendra Modi presented a selection of gifts to his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese. Often reflecting India’s artisanal and cultural traditions, the gifts on this trip included a coffee box, a Dhokra boat, and one unexpected item: the vinyl edition of the 1996 fusion album, Colonial Cousins.
For Albanese, an avid record collector who deejayed as ‘DJ Albo’ once, and is passionate about alternative rock, post-punk, and classic Australian pub rock, it seemed like a fitting gift. Albanese, who often quotes songs in his public appearances, is a fan of English singer and political activ Billy Bragg, American rock ‘n’ roll icon Bruce Springsteen, as well as global popstar Taylor Swift, among others.
“Music has always been India’s soft power and it is heartening to see an album that celebrated cultural harmony continues to represent our country decades later,” said Hariharan in a statement. He added that he was glad that there was recognition of the power of Indian music as a bridge between cultures.
The album seamlessly blending Hindustani and Carnatic ragas with Western pop, rock, and acoustic elements (Image: Amazon)
PM Modi’s gift also put the focus back on an album that emerged during India’s indipop boom and was one of the defining albums during the vibrant independent music scene of the 90s. It was an interesting time to be a musician in India. After liberalisation, the scope of private and foreign investments had scaled up, paving the way for the entry of foreign broadcasters such as MTV and Channel V in the country. These gave people a taste of contemporary music from around the world, from a range of arts such as Madonna, Michael Jackson and bands like Backstreet Boys, Spice Girls and Michael Learns to Rock. There was an explosion of choices and a talented bunch of artes grasped it with both hands.
It was the time that gave India Alisha Chinai’s Made in India, Lucky Ali’s Sunoh, Baba Sehgal’s rap experiments, Daler Mehndi’s bhangra-pop and bands such as Euphoria, among others.
This is when Colonial Cousins came about. At the helm of the album were ghazal and playback singer Hariharan and composer and producer Leslie Lewis, who in the album attempted to blend Indian classical music with Western pop, rock and folk to deliver tracks such as Krishna, Indian Rain and Sa ni dha pa, combining Hindustani influences with acoustic guitars, layered harmonies and contemporary production, creating a sound that appealed to both mainstream leners as well as classical music acolytes. Together, the two artes also managed to showcase that Indian independent musicians could produce music with international influences without abandoning Indian musical traditions. The duo adopted the name from a colloquial phrase that is often used to describe culturally hybrid or Westernised South Asians in Britain, reflecting the album’s own blend of Indian and Western musical traditions. Hariharan figured this out while sitting in a posh London club with a Parsi friend.
