MUMBAI: Pt Iman Das, an internationally acclaimed classical vocalist, who was selected in the Best Upcoming 100 artists of the World category by WNYR New York Radio released “Anand Karo” to celebrate the gift of life.

The unique music video of “Anand Karo” signifies everything to look forward to in life and represents “Young India, Free India, New India”. The track was released on July 5, 2020, on the day of Guru Purnima. The purpose of this initiative was to benefit the young underprivileged children of rural India, affected due to the current coronavirus situation and who can't go to school nor afford live videos and other facilities.

To know more about the initiative and the tack “Anand Karo”, we connected with Pt Iman Das.

Check the interview below.

Could you tell us about your new track “Anand Karo”? What message does it convey?

The current pandemic is unprecedented and there is a great deal of negativity all around. Even the music of the day is negative in tone. Hence, I felt that there is a need for music that conveys positivity and joyful vibes. That is the concept of ‘Anand Karo.’ Ideally, I would not have released the song at this point in time, but since it was the occasion of Guru Purnima and music is a ‘Guru Mukhi’ talent hence, I decided to release the track as a tribute to the Gurus because whatever we learn is because of them.

The track has a two-fold message. The first is that we have to stay positive irrespective of the circumstances. We must understand that the situation can’t be worse than what we are already enduring and we have to overcome the challenges. We need to remain happy.  When a person is happy internally then the world also becomes a happy place.

The second message is that I want the younger generation to listen and understand classical music and that’s why I have brought all these famous artists together for this project. All the musicians and artists who have collaborated with me on ‘Anand Karo’ are trained and reputed singers and artists. I am a classical musician myself and have always wanted to create something in the classical genre.

Watch here:

What is the purpose of the initiative?

Since the pandemic emerged, there have been a lot of chaos and things have changed. When we talk of children, their classes have shifted online. However, a lot of the children come from rural areas where there is no proper connectivity and availability of laptops or internet. I decided to do something that helps in generating funds and supporting these children in getting their education back on track.

After the pandemic, people from rural areas may face the biggest economic challenges. This might lead to a lot of children not returning to school. This initiative is a humble effort starting on the auspicious day of Guru Purnima to raise funds that can be used to provide laptops, phones, and other such support to the rural children. We hope that the whole country comes together in helping the cause and ensuring that every child gets back to school eventually.

What was the idea of bringing various celebrity singers together?

Classical music is ‘soulful music’ and not necessarily popular music. It has been around for over 2000 years and will be around for another 2000 plus years or more. It is a necessity now to familiarize our younger generation with this form of music. We have collaborated with celebrity singers such as Dev Negi who sang beautiful songs in films like Kedarnath and also the recent hit ‘Ankhiyon Se Goli Maare’ as well as Aditi Paul who has sung in films like Bahubali 2, Iman Chakraborty who has won National Award, Chandana Balakalyan well known classical singer, MD Pallavi from Kannada film industry, and Mridula from the Malayalam film industry, have all come together. We also have renowned Tabla player Rimpa Siva, Vishal Krishna who is a Kathak maestro and grandson of Sitara Devi, performing on the song. They all promptly responded to my call and we have worked relentlessly for three and a half months to create this project aimed at raising funds for the education of poor children.

Message to the society

There are two core messages. The first one being in the current scenario, we are all searching for some hope and light. We hope that this song does bring out smiles to some faces and ignites joyful memories. The other message is that this is a young classical song, if this song can encourage young people to listen to such a number and enjoy it then I would consider it a success. It is time to know our country, culture, and music.