On the eve of India’s 77th Independence Day, three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej on 14 August released an instrumental rendition of the national anthem with the 100-member British Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Dedicated to Indians across the globe, the national anthem was recorded at the iconic Abbey Road Studios in London.
Kej took to X, formerly Twitter, to announce the same and wrote: “A few days ago, I conducted a 100-piece British orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, to perform India’s National Anthem at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, London. This is the largest orchestra ever to record India’s National Anthem and it is spectacular! The ‘Jaya He’ at the end gave me goosebumps. Felt great as an Indian composer :-).”
A few days ago, I conducted a 100-piece British orchestra, The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to perform India’s National Anthem at the legendary Abbey Road Studios, London. This is the largest orchestra ever to record India’s National Anthem and it is spectacular! The “Jaya He” at… pic.twitter.com/sqJGW8mTDu
— Ricky Kej (@rickykej) August 14, 2023
Sharing a clip of the performance, Kej urged Indians across the world to share the one-minute-long video on India’s Independence Day.
“I am sharing this historic recording with every one of you this Independence Day – use it, share it, watch it, but with respect. It is yours now. Jai Hind,” he said.
Many including the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi appreciated Kej for the instrumental rendition of the national anthem, “Wonderful. It will certainly make every Indian proud,” the Prime Minister wrote on X, formerly twitter, in response to Ricky’s post.
Anurag Thakur, the Indian minister for sports and Information Broadcasting wrote: “There was a time when the British prohibited & jailed any Indian who dared to sing national anthem & raise the national flag. As we enter the #AmritKaal of Independence, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, a 100-piece British orchestra, performs our national anthem, which is conducted by an Indian, the immensely talented Shri @rickykej ji. What a journey we have covered. This is a harbinger of the glory days that are in store for our nation.”
This is not Ricky Kej’s first performance on Independence Day. In 2022, he performed the anthem with 12 refugee singers who hailed from Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Myanmar and Cameroon.
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