Dubai teen sings birthday tribute to Indian PM Narendra Modi

A tribute song for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was released on Thursday, his 70th birthday - and the voice behind it was that of a talented Grade 10 student in the UAE, Suchetha Satish.

"Namo Namo Vishwaguru Bharat Mera" was how the song begun as it was launched on digital platforms.

Ajay Gopal, a Malayalam lyricist and singer, wrote the song, while Sucheta's mother, Sumitha Ayilliath, penned the project in Hindi to suit the original meter and rhythm.

"The tuning, composition and orchestration had been done by the acclaimed Bollywood composer Monty Sharma. Everybody involved was located in different cities and countries. The flautist was in Bangalore, the song was mixed in Mumbai, and it was video edited in Kannur," said Sucheta, who recorded the song at a studio in Sharjah.

The video of the song highlights Narendra Modi's (Namo, as he is popularly known) political career, emphasising on the 'Made In India' campaign and taking viewers on a journey across India - mountains, rivers, deserts, and various cultural landmarks.

A copy of the song was presented to Dr Aman Puri, Consul-General of India in Dubai, on Thursday.

"We started thinking about this project a year ago. But once it was written and recorded in Malayalam, it did not take much time to execute it. The challenge was when my mother was translating it in Hindi, there was a lot of back and forth and virtual meetings with various people at different locations.

"This song is a tribute from the Indian diaspora," said the Indian High School student who has also sung Covid-19 awareness songs in 29 languages.

The 15-year-old is now training in Hindustani classical music, but she was introduced to the world of music at the age of four.

"I have also had the opportunity of being in the UAE National Anthem Team in 2015 when the Indian Prime Minister came to the Emirates. In 2018, I sang at the Dubai Opera before the Indian Prime Minister took to the stage," said the world-record-holder for singing in most languages in one concert and the longest live singing concert by a child.

"I would like to tell the youth of today don't be high on menaces, be high on music for a soulful experience in life."

nandini@khaleejtimes.com