With his original recordings in their studio, the guidance he provided to their artists to sing Rabindra Sangeet, and the fact that he inaugurated their first factory, Saregama’s association with Rabindranath Tagore is a long, rich one. So “Jaya Hey”, the album launched to commemorate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th birth anniversary was a fitting tribute, unveiling not just Tagore's finest works, but also, for the first time, all five verses of the composition whose first verse forms our national anthem. Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman of RP, said on the launch of the album, “Saregama shares an extraordinary bond with the legend. So being the pioneer in bringing his music to the people, we are proud to present ‘Jaya Hey’ a phenomenal album where the best names in industry have lent their vocals to the work of genius”.
To revisit the legend's work, and to remember the message his verses contained, Saregama relaunched the album this Republic Day. With both change and turmoil affecting and altering the political and economic landscape of the country and the world, the philosophy Tagore’ words articulate speak of universal brotherhood and love, and the need to rediscover the nation’ soul become all the more important.
A reflection on cultural diversity, the five stanza Brahmo hymn quite fittingly features 39 celebrated Indian artists, including Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Vishwamohan Bhatt, Hari Prasad Chaurasia, Sunidhi Chauhan, Kailash Kher, P Susheela, Jagjit Singh and Shankar Mahadevan. The music directors, Sourendro Mullick and Soumyojit Das have experimented with musical genres like Blues, Jazz, Folk etc, with the aim to allow people from different cultures and walks of life to connect with the song.
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The verses have also been transcreated into English by Jayabrato Chatterjee and recited by Harshavardhan Neotia, Chairman of the Ambuja Realty Group, for both ease of understanding, and the need to create a universal appeal thereof. Neotia says, “Rabindranath's works have always been close to my heart. My ancestors came to Kolkata almost a hundred years ago, and thus the influence of Bengali culture in my life has been most natural. I have been amazed by the variety of his creative insight and his philosophy of universal compassion...”