75 years of Indian Independence: Grammy winner Ricky Kej joins 12 refugees to sing Indian National Anthem

Ricky Kej, a multi-Grammy Award-winning Indian music composer and environmentalist, joined 12 refugee singers, residing in India to celebrate 75 years of Indian Independence.

Dressed in their traditional costumes, 12 singers hailing from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Cameroon put up a heart-warming performance and the video that has gone viral was shared by the Union Ministry of Culture on Twitter.

“Love for India is pouring from around the world! On the occasion of India’s 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Grammy Award winner Ricky Kej and 12 refugee singers from 4 nationalities pay tribute to the national anthem,” the Culture Minister said in the tweet.

The video, which garnered thousands of views within moments, was also tweeted by ‘United Nations in India’ handle with the caption, “We thank you for your kindness, love, and support. For India’s 75th Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, refugee youth join forces with multi-Grammy Award-winner Ricky Kej to pay a heartfelt tribute to the Government and people of India.”

Mahindra Group Chairman and CEO, Anand Mahindra, who is popular on social media for his regular posts, also tweeted the video. “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”, a Sanskrit term, which means “The World is One”.

On the eve of Independence Day, 75 prominent artistes from across the country, including singers Asha Bhosle, Hariharan and Shreya Goshal collaborated to bring together the rhythm of freedom in a rendition of the Indian national anthem. Together they released the ‘Jaya Hey 2.0’ to mark 75 years of Independence. It has the full five verses of Bharat Bhagya Vidhata written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1911, the first stanza of which became the Indian National Anthem Jana Gana Mana.