New Delhi, April 21 (ANI): As the world is all set to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Earth Day on April 22, musicians Dr L Subramaniam, Abhay K and Kavita Krishnamurti have come together for a new Earth Anthem.
The song is inspired by the Indian ideal Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which loosely translates to 'The world is one family'. The composers said they feel the song is the most relevant in recent times as the entire world battles a common enemy - the coronavirus.
While Subramaniam has produced both the music and the video of the anthem, the song has been penned by poet-diplomat Abhay K, and has been sung by Kavita Krishnamurti Subramaniam and Bindu Subramaniam.
Abhay K had written the Earth Anthem back in 2008 while he was in St Petersburg, Russia after being inspired by the concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which comes from the ancient Indian texts and the blue marble image of the Earth taken from space by the crew of Apollo 17.
According to Abhay, the concept of the entire world being a single family has been proved recently in by the COVID-19 pandemic.
"The spread of coronavirus has proved our interdependence once again, whichever country we come from, we cannot remain indifferent. Similarly, environmental pollution, biodiversity loss, and climate change affect all of us, it does not matter whether we live in north or south or east or west," said Abhay.
"All life is interdependent and until we understand this basic fact clearly and wholeheartedly, we will not be able to fight climate change, biodiversity loss or novel coronavirus pandemic," the poet further added.
Abhay then explained through words from the song, how different countries that usually fought against each other are currently fighting the same enemy.
"Words of the Earth Anthem such as 'All the peoples and all the nations, one for all and all for one' are all the more important today, when we are all fighting a common enemy, that is, COVID-19," the 40-year-old poet said.
"A common anthem, therefore, can inspire people from all countries, connect us all across the world through a common musical thread and inspire the next generation to put the planet before themselves," he added.
The anthem was originally produced in 2017 by the celebrated violinist Dr L Subramaniam. The anthem has been translated into over 50 different languages spoken in different parts of the world.
The maestro has also been recently appointed as the ambassador of the Earth Day Network which is celebrating the golden jubilee of Earth Day this year.
"We are dependent on nature and we are part of nature. We are not the masters of nature, it doesn't belong to us. We have to co-exist with mountains, oceans, trees, and all living beings and so we cannot afford to harm the planet in any way," Subramaniam said.
The maestro is currently busy composing Cosmic Symphony, the theme of which is inspired by the navagraha concept. It is a composition dedicated to the nine planets, written for a full symphony orchestra and choir.
The Earth Anthem will be released on 22 April to mark the golden jubilee celebrations of Earth Day. It will also be released on the diplomat-poet Abhay's YouTube channel.