Ricky Kej and Bickram Ghosh on their song ‘Vande Bharatam’, created for the 2022 Republic Day parade

Ricky Kej says he and Bickram Ghosh made 'Vande Bharatam' to evoke pride and patriotism.

When two maestros work together, often magic happens. An example of this unfolds during the Republic Day parade, with the 12-minute musical piece ‘Vande Bharatam’ made by Grammy Award winning musician Ricky Kej and Oscar contender tabla player Bickram Ghosh.

The Union ministry of defence and ministry of culture had asked the duo to collaborate on this project, and this is the first time the musicians have worked together.

“‘Vande Bharatam’ involves several musicians from across India, and on January 26, it will be performed by over 500 dancers,” says Bickram.

The musicians say that the energetic and emotional composition is a fusion, and has elements of folk, classical music, contemporary music.

Music and patriotism

Talking about music and patriotism, Ricky Kej says, “Music is a really powerful language, not just for communicating a message but it is also best for retraining that message deep into the consciousness of the listener.”

Kej adds, “That is the reason why every single country across the world has a National Anthem which people in the country absolutely revere. The minute you listen to that National Anthem, even if it is just a few notes, it immediately evokes pride in you. And that is the power of music.”

Percussionist Bickram Ghosh says, “We all have our own ways of expressing our patriotism. Personally, in my career that spans over 30 years now, I had opportunities of shifting base to other countries. However, it was impossible for me to imagine living anywhere else. I am deeply bonded to India, I am bonded to its culture, to its people, to its wonderful diversity and its brilliant sounds and music. Keeping in mind these feelings towards one’s country, Ricky and I composed ‘Vande Bharatam’. We wanted the passion of patriotism to pervade the track, and at the same time, we wanted to showcase the wonderful diversity of Indian musical sounds and traditions. Ricky and I worked very hard over the last two weeks to arrive at a musical expression that encompasses the brilliance of Indian musical diversity.”

Music and revolution

Music has always been a very strong part of revolutions worldwide, says Kej. “When it comes to protests, revolutions, marches and anti-war cries and even war cries for that matter, music has always played a very important role in all of that. So I have always been using music as a way to spread a message about the environment and sustainability and positive social impact. That is the only kind of music that I make. I do not do pop music nor do I do Hollywood music,” he says.

Music as a tool for change

The musician duo say that made this particular piece of music to evoke patriotic feelings among listeners.

Kej says, “I feel that this particular music will instill pride in our country, even for people who are not from India, because of the contemporary, fusion nature of this music. This music will go beyond India where people who are not normally exposed to Indian music, or do not understand Indian music, even they are going to be very enamoured by this. Probably, it will raise curiosity about India in them and also instil a feeling that India is a beautiful country and Indian culture is a culture that they would want to explore. I think music is a really powerful tool for change.”

Percussionist Bickram Ghosh