Ricky Kej, KISS create monumental version of Indian national anthem, sets Guinness World Record

Imagine a choir of 14,000 tribal children from Odisha coming together with the living legends of Indian classical musicians to create a new version of the Indian national anthem. Yes, you read that right. Popular music composer and three-time Grammy-winning musician Ricky Kej, in collaboration with Odisha’s renowned Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), has created a new Guinness World Record for the ‘largest singing lesson’ of the Indian national anthem.

In Kolkata on Sunday at a city hotel to unveil the new version of the national anthem, both Kej and Dr Achyuta Samanta, founder of Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT University) and KISS, announced that the recording would be released at 5 pm on August 14 globally. The recording features names of Indian music legends like the flute legend Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia, Grammy-winner flutist Rakesh Chaurasia, ‘santoor’ maestro Rahul Sharma, ‘sarod’ virtuosos Amaan and Ayaan Ali Bangash, ‘nadaswaram’ couple Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and his wife Kaleeshabi Mahaboob, ‘veena’ legend Dr Jayanthi Kumaresh, renowned Carnatic percussionist Giridhar Udupa and of course, Kej.

Arrangement and collaboration in this epic manner were made possible with the support of Dr Samanta. “Ricky Kej has created history. The new version of the national anthem features the biggest Indian musicians and 14,000 tribal students of KISS. We have set a new ‘Guinness World Record’ for the ‘largest singing lesson’, previously held by Sweet Adelines International, Nashville, USA, with 6,651 participants. After unveiling the new version of the national anthem in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi and Bhubaneswar, we have come to Kolkata. The City of Joy holds special significance as Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore comes from this land. So, we feel extremely special to be in Kolkata and unveil the song here,” said Dr Samanta, the founder of KISS, which is home to 80,000 indigenous children (40,000 current students and 40,000 alumni).

The renowned educationist and philanthropist further informed the ‘Millennium Post’ that Kej has been associated with KISS and KIIT for some time now. “Ricky Kej is so talented and I asked him to create a new version of the Indian national anthem with our KISS students. We made all the arrangements and it was a herculean task. The students rehearsed for three days and on the fourth day, that is, July 4, we recorded the track. I am so glad that on the eve of the Independence Day, we will release the new version of the Indian national anthem across the world on all streaming platforms,” said Dr Samanta.

Interestingly, the video also features the 14,000 students of KISS forming a human map of India and the word ‘Bharat’ in Hindi and English. The achievement symbolises the unity and diversity of India, showcasing the nation’s rich cultural heritage and the limitless potential of the youth.

To share the historic achievement, the entire recording will be made available completely royalty-free for any purpose provided the content is completely unedited and unadulterated to ensure no disrespect to the Indian national anthem. Individual versions of the recording featuring each maestro performing the anthem from beginning to end will be released after August 15 so that the public has access to individual recordings by their favourite artists.

“In 2023, I conducted the largest Symphony Orchestra (100-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, UK) to perform the Indian national anthem. This year, I got some of my absolute favourite classical musicians from India to perform. Then on top of that, we had 14,000 students from KISS joining us in this performance. I have been associated with KISS for some time now and I am very inspired by how Dr Samanta educates, feeds and takes care of 40,000 tribal students at any given point in time. I’ve interacted with the tribal students many times. So, we decided to collaborate and we recorded with 14,000 children and even created a new ‘Guinness World Record’,” said Kej, the internationally renowned music composer and environmentalist.

And for the tech enthusiasts, there’s more. Kej has collaborated with renowned VR filmmaker Sairam Sagiraju and developers Krishnaprasad Jagadish and Raksha Rao to create a virtual reality version of this project. Now, you can immerse yourself in a VR experience of the Indian national anthem.

Meanwhile, Rishi Nath, the official adjudicator of ‘Guinness World Records’ confirmed the new record. “What we achieved in Bhubaneswar was a phenomenal 13,944 participants in ‘The Largest Singing Lesson’. Congratulations to Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences, Ricky Kej and of course, Professor Samanta.”

New Record

- The new version of the Indian national anthem features legendary Indian musicians and 14,000 tribal students of KISS

- Guinness World Record created for the ‘largest singing lesson’

- 14,000 students of KISS form a human map of India

- Recording to release at 5 pm on August 14 globally