On June 16, streaming providers will begin to offer the song "Abundance in Millets," performed by Mumbai-born singer-songwriter Falguni Shah and her husband, performer Gaurav Shah
For a special song to promote the advantages of millets and their potential to reduce world hunger, Prime Minister Narendra Modi teamed up with Grammy Award-winning Indian-American musician Falu. The song "Abundance in Millets," performed by Mumbai-born singer-songwriter Falguni Shah and her husband, vocalist Gaurav Shah, will be made available on streaming services on June 16.
The 75th session of the UN General Assembly and the members of the FAO Governing Bodies agreed to declare 2023 the "International Year of Millets" at the request of India.
"Prime Minister Modi has written a song with me and my husband Gaurav Shah," Falu told PTI ahead of the song's release.
She claimed that the song, which was written in both Hindi and English and emphasises the strength of millets, would be made available to everyone.
“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 the Millets. 'Abundance in Millets' was created to raise awareness of the super grain as another potential key to minimising world hunger,” said a statement on Falu’s website.
Falu, who won the Grammy for Best Children's Album in 2022 for her album “A Colourful World”, claimed that meeting Modi in New Delhi the year before her Grammy triumph gave her the inspiration to write a song on millets.
She claimed that during their conversation about the ability of music to effect change and elevate humanity, Prime Minister Modi proposed to her that she write a song with a message of eradicating hunger. She remarked that Prime Minister Modi suggested recording a song about millets because music knows no bounds. According to Falu, Modi informed her that India promotes millets as a supergrain with exceptional nutritional and health benefits.
She said that the prime minister accepted when she "naively" asked him to cowrite the song with her.
“We have collaborated on the song, it’s a single, and it’s coming out on June 16," with a worldwide release on every streaming platform, she said.
The song will be released in Hindi and English, Falu said, adding that it will be translated into other regional languages to ensure a widespread reach.
The New York-based musician emphasised that the song's goals are to promote millets, aid farmers in increasing crop production, and work to eradicate hunger throughout the world.
“What better way to have a song and music tied together with the message that we can actually solve hunger problems in the world,” she said. “If we can supply the world with millets, which is a very easy way of farming and growing, this grain can really help end the biggest problem in the world, which is hunger, and also uplift farmers, local and smaller farms," she said.
There are numerous examples of millets being consumed during the Indus Valley civilization, making millets one of the first crops to be domesticated in India. Millets are currently grown in more than 130 countries and are a staple diet for more than 500 million people in Asia and Africa.