We all know the tune of ‘Vande Mataram’, the calm, soothing music, which evokes a strong sense of love for our motherland with its lyrics. And 27-year music composer Gifton Elias’s latest video composition of the 1882 poem written by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay is one, complete with symphony and a mix of four languages.
“It is really difficult to make a symphony in this city,” says Gifton Elias, when asked how much effort was put into making his own version of the ‘Vande Mataram’. And he could not have asked for more, as his latest patriotic creation was uploaded on August 1, two weeks before Independence Day.
Sung by well-known singers Mohd. Irfan Ali and Geeta Madhuri, the latest tribute consists of children who sang the chorus, and are also featured in the video. “The most important thing about my video is that it is a rhapsody and comprises two moods -- celebratory and another one of pride,” explains Gifton, who also shot some parts of the video at the Chowmahalla Palace and the Qutb Shahi Tombs, as a tribute to Hyderabad.
Apart from the two singers, he is also very thankful to actor/writer Atul Rastogi and Dr. Kameshwar Rao, a professor in Telugu, who wrote the Hindi and Telugu lyrics for the video.
What makes Gifton’s song different and interesting is that he has used Sanskrit, Hindi, Telugu and English languages in the video. And not just that, he also sent two people, Vinay Nath and Satya Reddy, across India for videography.
“I asked them to capture the rural side of the country,” he (www.giftnelias.com) mentions. All said and done, Gifton also has kind words for a school-going student, Cyrilla, whose voice was also used in the video, and other children from a music academy.
“I am also very grateful to my father V. K. Elias and Sri Ramachari, who runs the Little Musicians Academy for helping me ,” he says. The video is available on Youtube.
