Indian-American music composer and three time Grammy winner Ricky Kej in collaboration with Odisha's Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS), has set a new Guinness World Record for the "Largest Singing Lesson" of the Indian national anthem.

After conducting the largest-ever Symphony Orchestra (100-piece Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, UK) of the Indian National Anthem at Abbey Road Studios, London, in 2023, Kej has elevated the celebration by organising a record-breaking event with around 14,000 tribal students from KISS.

Kej announced that the recording would be released on August 15 across all streaming platforms, YouTube, and his social media accounts. The musician on social media platform X shared the teaser of the National Anthem.

"Teaser for our monumental version of the National Anthem of Bharat (India). Releasing this Independence Day. We won a Guinness World Record for this! Featuring 14000 tribal children and musical legends," he wrote. 

The recording includes performances by notable musicians such as Bansuri maestros Pandit Hariprasad Chaurasia and Rakesh Chaurasia, Santoor exponent Rahul Sharma, Sarod wizards Amaan and Ayaan, Nadaswaram maestros Sheik Mahaboob Subhani and Kaleeshabi Mahaboob, Veena maestro Dr. Jayanthi Kumaresh, and Carnatic percussionist Giridhar Udupa.

This extraordinary event shoot in the month of July has set a new Guinness World Record for the "Largest Singing Lesson", previously held by Sweet Adelines International, Nashville, USA, with 6,651 participants.

The video features 14,000 children forming a 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 its youth, he claimed.

"Individual versions of this recording featuring each maestro performing the anthem from beginning to end will be released after August 15", Kej said.

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.

PTI