Ricky Kej Reveals To Arnab: Motivation Behind Rendition Of National Anthem, Setting Guinness Record

On the eve of the 78th Independence Day, three-time Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej released his rendition of the National Anthem. The singer with top Indian classic musicians to create the soul-stirring rendition of the the National Anthem. Legendary musicians like flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia, sarod maestros Aman and Ayaan Ali Khan, and santoor maestro Rahul Sharma along with 14000 tribal children came together for the Guinness World Record holding version of Jana Gana Mana. In an exclusive conversation with Republic, the singer has now explained all that went behind curating the masterpiece.

Ricky Kej on curating the National Anthem with a 100-piece British Orchestra 

In a conversation with Republic editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami, three-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej spoke about recording the Indian National Anthem first with the British Orchestra. However, the singer shared that the version lacked the Indian essence and so he decided to re-record the same with Indian musicians and instruments. He said, “Last year I conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London and the finest musicians performed the Indian national anthem. While I loved that rendition, I felt we needed to add some sonic identity of India. In order to do that, we needed to get the best musicians possible. So, I got in touch with the top classical legendary musicians who came on board and recorded it.” 

Talking about the one-of-a-kind experience of getting hundreds of British singers to perform the Indian National Anthem, Kej called the feeling ‘amazing’. The singer shared, “I recorded the Biritsh orchestra last year. It was amazing recording them., they are one of my favourite orchestras in the world. I have collaborated with them multiple times. But here there was a little subtext. After having ruled us for over 200 years now hundred of their finest musicians are performing the Indian National anthem conducted by an Indian composer. That was pretty amazing. I mentioned that to the orchestra before we started and they gave their very very best to the recording. They did a marvellous job."

'This has never been done before', Ricky Kej on getting 14000 children together for the National Anthem 

Ricky Kej also shared how he landed on the current and final version of the National Anthem. For the recording of the same, the singer recalled converting an entire stadium into a studio. He shared, “We got 14,000 children from tribal communities together in a stadium in Bhubaneshwar. We actually converted the entire stadium into a recording studio. We recorded these children as a choir singing four-part harmonies. That's what became this rendition of the national anthem.” 

This rendition has already achieved a Guinness World Record by including nearly 14,000 students from the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences. The National Anthem features Ricky Kej, who directed the music in collaboration with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The group performance also includes flute maestro Hariprasad Chaurasia, sarod maestros Aman and Ayaan Ali Khan, and santoor maestro Rahul Sharma, among many other renowned artists.