John F Kennedy Center to reverberate with Jana Gana Mana

New Delhi, Sep12: The precincts of the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D C will tomorrow reverberate with the beat of 'Jana Gana Mana' when India's most reputed international music composer A R Rahman enthralls US audiences with his rendition of the National Anthem at the Indian and American Achiever Awards.

Having earned worldwide acclaim for his renditions of 'Maa Tujhe Salaam' and 'Vande Mataram', A R Rahman will perform Jana Gana Mana' at the inaugural CineMaya Media Group Indian and American Achiever Awards.

The nominees for the Awards include luminaries like former US President Bill Clinton, media moghul Rupert Murdoch, Bill Gates, N R Narayana Murthy, Bollywood Baadshah Shah Rukh Khan, and Management Guru Deepak Chopra, amongst other great individuals and corporations.All these individuals and firms have been nominated for the awards for their commendable achievements in their respective fields.

It is the latest in the line of International honours for Rahman, after composing the score for Shekhar Kapur's 'Elizabeth: The Golden Age'; scoring music for 'Bombay Dreams', the maiden stage production of Andrew Lloyd Webber, the well-known composer of musicals and composing the music for 'The Lord of the Rings' theatre production, which first opened in Toronto on March 23, 2006.

On his part, Rahman is thrilled at the opportunity to sing 'Jana Gana Mana' at the Indian and American Achievers awards. ''It is my great honour to be able to sing Jana Gana Mana, India's National Anthem during the 60th year of Independence Celebrations in the heart of the US Capital.

CineMaya Media is doing a great job by celebrating the 60th Anniversary of India's Independence and recognizing individuals and multi-national corporations (MNCs) who have contributed towards the collective advancement and growth of the two largest democracies in the world,'' Rahman said. The evening will be hosted by upcoming Bollywood star, Kunal Khemu and the US National Anthem will be performed by Penn Masala, the world's first and premier Indian a-cappella group.

The gala event, which begins at 1900 hours (local time in the US) tomorrow, will also feature performances by internationally acclaimed maestros of Indian music Dr Balamurali Krishna and Pandit Ajoy Chakraborty (in a duet - jugalbandi), Pandit Birju Maharaj, and Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.

The prestigious awards, instituted to recognize individuals and companies who have excelled in their fields, are in four separate categories - Innovation, Science and Technology, Arts, Entertainment and Media, Multi-National Company and Gandhi Lifetime Achievement Award.

There will be two Honorees in each category, one an Indian and the other an American. A panel of esteemed board of advisors and judges will select the Honorees in each category of awards.

The panel consists of former US Ambassador to India Robert D Blackwill, Indian diplomat and Chef de Cabinet of the United Nations Vijay Nambiar, Congressman Frank Pallone, president of the US India Business Council Ron Somers, Exutive director of Bharatiya Vidya Bhawan Dr Jayaraman, and Dean of students at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Sreenath Sreenivasan.

UNI