Monsoon Showers Brings Five Indian Festivals Together on “Festivo”

“Inba Inba Pongal” runs just over four minutes. Its official video places the band among rice fields at golden hour, a natural setting for a song about the harvest festival. Inba means joy in Tamil, while Pongal gives thanks to the sun, rain, earth, farmers, and cattle behind the harvest. Monsoon Showers built the song on raga Malayamarutham. The bright melody leads into a chorus that feels made to be sung together, celebratory without turning the holiday into a generic party song.

“Holi Ray,” just under four minutes, turns inward. Its video shows Venkatesh Padmanabhan playing keyboard above a lake instead of relying on the familiar bursts of colored powder. The band describes the song as an invitation to set aside ego and grudges and build bridges. That reflective tone makes it a useful counterpart to the brightness of “Inba Inba Pongal.” When CBS Chicago featured Monsoon Showers in September ahead of a Schaumburg performance, the segment introduced them as a local band bringing Indian music and pop together. These two songs make that description easy to hear.

Monsoon Showers brings together Jayashree Venkatesh, Venkatesh Padmanabhan, Sneha Padmanabhan, and Sanjana Venkatesh. Jayashree starts the writing and composing. Venkatesh adds lyrics, music, and arrangements. Sneha and Sanjana, raised around both Carnatic and Western music, come in on lyrics, composition, arrangement, and vocals. Kavitha Jayaraman plays veena on “Onam Sandosham,” the Kerala homecoming song in raga Gambeera Nattai. The video shows the holiday in motion: flowers, dancing, and cooking, with a chorus built for a room already celebrating.

The full record lasts a little over eighteen minutes. “It’s a New Year” opens in English, the most familiar celebration on the EP and the easiest way in. Then come “Inba Inba Pongal,” “Holi Ray,” “Onam Sandosham,” and the short closer “Diya Diya Diwali,” set in raga Jog. The singers change with the songs: Sneha leads “It’s a New Year” and “Holi Ray”; Venkatesh and Sneha sing “Inba Inba Pongal”; Jayashree, Sneha, and Sanjana sing “Onam Sandosham”; and Jayashree leads “Diya Diya Diwali.” Hearing the singers trade places is part of the pleasure of the EP. Each festival gets its own character while the family arrangements hold the record together.

Monsoon Showers submitted Festivo for Grammy consideration in Best Global Music Album. The campaign is part of the record’s current story, but the more lasting point is the care the family gives each festival rather than treating five traditions as interchangeable themes.

Festivo is short enough to hear in order. The songs move from New Year renewal to Pongal gratitude, Holi reconciliation, Onam community, and Diwali celebration. Each one stays rooted in a specific festival while the full record still sounds unmistakably like one family made it.