Prime Minister Narendra Modi has collaborated with Indian-American singer Falu, a Grammy Award-winning artist, to create a special song aimed at promoting the benefits of millet and their potential in alleviating global hunger.
Scheduled for release on June 16 across various streaming platforms, the captivating song titled “Abundance in Millets” will be performed by Falu, also known as Falguni Shah, along with her husband, singer Gaurav Shah. The initiative comes as 2023 has been designated the “International Year of Millets,” following India’s proposal and subsequent endorsement by Members of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Governing Bodies and the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly.
In a recent interview, Falu revealed, “Prime Minister Modi has co-written a song with me and my husband, Gaurav Shah.” The multilingual track, blending English and Hindi lyrics, aims to reach a diverse audience and highlights the immense potential of millets.
“Falu and Gaurav Shah will release the track ‘Abundance in Millets,’ featuring the Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on June 16, 2023, in celebration of the International Year of Millets. ‘Abundance in Millets’ was created to raise awareness of the super grain as another potential key to minimizing world hunger,” stated a press release on Falu’s official website.
The inspiration for the song emerged during a meeting between Falu and Prime Minister Modi in New Delhi last year, shortly after her Grammy win for Best Children’s Album in 2022 with “A Colorful World.” During their conversation on the transformative power of music, Prime Minister Modi suggested crafting a song that would convey a message of ending hunger.
Given the universal language of music, Prime Minister Modi proposed focusing the song’s theme on millets. He emphasized India’s promotion of millet as a super grain with remarkable health and nutritional benefits. In response to the prime minister’s suggestion, Falu “naively” asked if he would collaborate with her in writing the song, to which he readily agreed.
“We have collaborated on the song; it’s a single, and it’s coming out on June 16,” Falu confirmed, emphasizing its worldwide release on all major streaming platforms. The song will be initially released in Hindi and English, but Falu intends to have it translated into other regional languages to maximize its reach.
While initially apprehensive about writing a song with the prime minister, Falu described the collaboration as a seamless and organic process. “It’s one thing to write for him and it’s one thing to write with him. In the middle of the song, you will hear the speech that he has written and narrated in his own voice,” she revealed.
Expressing her gratitude and humility, Falu expressed her honour in collaborating with Modi on the Millets song, acknowledging it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any artist. She emphasized that the song’s objective is to promote millet, support farmers in increasing their cultivation, and tackle hunger in various parts of the world.
Falu passionately explained, “What better way to convey the message that we can actually solve hunger problems in the world than through music? If we can supply the world with millets, which can be easily grown and farmed, this grain can truly help eradicate one of the world’s greatest challenges—hunger—while uplifting local and smaller farmers.”
Millets have a rich history in India, having been among the earliest domesticated crops during the Indus Valley civilization. Presently cultivated in over 130 countries, millets serve as a traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa. The collaboration between Prime Minister Modi and Falu aims to shed light on the tremendous potential of millet and its role in addressing global hunger concerns.
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