Amjad Ali Khan comes up with new rendition of 'Vande Mataram'

Mumbai: Sarod maestro Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, who has rendered a new version of the national song "Vande Mataram" to mark the 69th Independence Day, says creating a melody on his favourite instrument was quite difficult.

"Vande Mataram", a poem from Bankim Chandra Chatterjee's 1882 novel Anandamath, was written in Bengali and Sanskrit. It is a hymn to the Mother Land.

The 69-year-old Padma Vibhushan recipient and his sons Amaan Ali Khan and Ayaan Ali Khan have joined hands with #fame, a Mumbai-based production house, for this project.

"Sarod is a difficult instrument and to get something melodious on it is also difficult. We feel the message of peace, harmony, unity has not reached the people...(ahead of the Independence Day) Amaan, Ayaan and I thought of coming up with a video on 'Vande Mataram'," Khan told PTI.

"Every Indian should realise that he is Indian first and then think of the region he belongs to. This video is a salutation to our country and the countrymen who gave their lives for us. We want to pass the message of peace, harmony and compassion," he said. Saket Saurabh, CEO of #fame, said, the company is particularly happy with this collaboration because every Indian has grown up listening to 'Vande Mataram'.

Khan also said that he does not find it difficult to hold audience's attention even now. "We have had no problem in capturing attention of audience. People connect with us," he said.