Are we living in a Golden Age? Bill Gates and other optimists think so. Others, who look at life as a glass-half-empty proposition, say we humans have never behaved so badly.

Sometimes, as is the wont of a middle-aged hippie cum malangiya type, I agree with Gates, before slipping back to the dark side and thinking, no, all really is going to hell in a handbasket.

There is one corner of the world though, where I am unrelentingly a positive thinker: contemporary South Asian music. There is just so much interesting, cutting-edge stuff being produced, be it dance/club, jazz, funk or pop, that one can hardly keep up. New artists and bands, drawing upon their subcontinental roots to greater or lesser degrees, pop up daily, in Canada, in the UK, in Germany and in the old countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh and India too. These artists have about as much interest in Bollywood, Raj Kapoor songs, and the ghazal as a fish has in a bicycle.

Rather, they have channelled the spirits of Grace Jones, Patti Smith, punk and Carole King. The women of the musical diaspora are particularly fascinating, for though they may still sing in Punjabi or even Pashto, they do not hesitate to shout and stomp around in a very (to some) confronting way if need be.

Here are clips of just a few of most exciting women acts with a South Asian connection, currently working the stages of the world.

Shilpa Ray (and the Happy Hookers)
Erotolepsy


Shilpa Ray, raised in New Jersey, had parents who tried to influence her in the study of Indian classical music. She demurred, but did fall in love with (ironically) the harmonium, which she has taken to a completely new setting with her garage-punk blues band, the Happy Hookers. Someone told her she once sounded like a "vulgar Ella Fitzgerald"; Shlipa corrected them: "A horny Frank Sinatra, don’t you mean?"

Meesha Shafi
Chori Chori


The gorgeous, statuesque Meesha Shafi brings an equally stunning vocal sensibility to her revamped Punjabi folk music. A regular on Pakistan’s pioneering show, Coke Studio, Meesha has forged an emerging career in film on both sides of the border, including in the rather disastrous The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Perera Elsewhere
Light Bulb


German, British, Sri Lankan. All three apply to this modern age Grace Jones whose performance and appearance is as important as the songs. Perera has taken the indie music scene in Europe and North America by storm in the past couple of years and a frequent flyer, appearing even in places like Kuala Lumpur as star DJ.

Nita Chawla
Bite the Bullet


Taking inspiration from the current crop of female pop stars like Tori Amos, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, Nita Chawla is fast carving out a place of her own in the US. A recent recipient of an arts grant in America, she’s becoming known to a wider audience. As one reviewer said, this girl has golden pipes and indeed, she does.

Zeb and Haniya
Aitebar


Two cousins from Kohat and Lahore who got together in the US have become one of South Asia’s most loved folk/roots acts. Singing in Pashto, Urdu, and Dari among other languages, they bring a north American acoustic singer-songwriter feel to their originals and interpretations of the region’s folk melodies.

Listen to these songs as a single playlist on our YouTube channel.