CHENNAI: A collection of classic national hymns in various languages gets a contemporary feel in a new music album, `Hindusthan Hamara'. The musical tribute to the motherland is to be launched online in MP3 format simultaneous to the I-Day release of its compact disc version.

"We hope the album appeals to Indian youth where ever they are in the world," said K. N. Shashikiran, director of Srishti's Carnatica who conceptualised the production.

The 58-minute CD strings together 12 songs including the classic `Sare jahan se acha..' and `Vaishnava janatho..'. Songs have been culled from Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi, Gujarati and Urdu. One song is in English. In keeping with its focus on youth, `Hindusthan Hamara' features young talents like Sruthi, a seventh class student of Good Shepherd school. This is the girl's second such venture after releasing a devotional CD, `Navashakthi Nayagigal' in 2004.

Other singers featured in the album are Haricharan, Saindhavi, Pradeepkumar and Master Vaibhav besides Carnatic vocalists Shashikiran and P. Ganesh. Music score is by Master Santosh. A video album of `Hindusthan Hamara' is also being planned, said J. Sathish Kumar, proprietor of Jsk Music which has produced the album.

It is proposed to distribute atleast one copy of the CD priced at Rs. 125 free to select schools and colleges. Carnatica also plans to stream the songs from its website www.carnatica.net to facilitate downloads. The effort took several months and was supported by the Madras Youth Choir. President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam is expected to autograph the album prior to its release.

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