Dubai: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 70th birthday on Thursday saw his fans in the UAE celebrating the occasion with song and ‘seva’ (service).
A music video in Hindi paying tributes to India and its current leader was released on YouTube by UAE-based singer Suchetha Satish, a 14-year-old student with a record in singing in 102 languages, and award-winning Bollywood music director Monty Sharma.
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The same team had dedicated an Arabic song applauding the contributions of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, as a birthday gift on his 70th birthday last year.
Suchetha told Gulf News that her new song titled, Namo Namo Vishwaguru Bharat, has also been made in Malayalam under the title Namo Namo Vishwa Bharatamba.
The release of the song tribute was done in the presence of the Consul General of India in Dubai Dr Aman Puri at the Indian Consulate in Dubai on Thursday evening. The Malayalam version of the song, penned and sung by UAE-based singer-cum-lyricist Ajay Gopal, was released on Facebook by Malayalam actor and a Member of (Indian) Parliament in Rajya Sabha, Suresh Gopi.
Suchetha, whose mother Sumitha Ayilliath wrote the Hindi lyrics, said she was lucky to have sung songs dedicated to the leaders of both the UAE and India on their special birthdays.
“We had begun preparing for this project for our Indian PM right after we dedicated a song for our UAE PM. We also made it a tribute for our motherland, highlighting various fields in which our country and its people have excelled,” said Suchetha, a grade 10 student at the Indian High School in Dubai.
“I was super excited to know that Modiji liked the song after a friend of my father, Dr. T. C. Satish, who is close to the Prime Minister, shared it with him ahead of the release.”
In his message from Mumbai, Monty Sharma said of Modi: “He is a man who doesn’t only make promises, but fulfils them. We all love him and we are really proud and honoured to have him as our Prime Minister. It is an absolute honour to be part of this project.”
Emiratis wish Modi
As Modi fans across the world sent him birthday greetings through social media, some Emiratis also joined in wishing him.
Emirati author, businesswoman and editor of Velvet Magazine, Shaikha Hind Al Qassemi was among those who wished Modi a happy birthday on Twitter.
Meanwhile, a group of Modi fans in the UAE organised food distribution in labour accommodations on the occasion.
Chandra Prakash.P, and Mahadevan A.K, coordinators of the initiative, said the volunteers did social service by providing food packets to workers. “We are giving away biryani packets to around 700 workers in labour accommodations in Sajja in Sharjah and Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park in Dubai over two days.”
Indian People’s Forum, a socio-cultural organisation of Indian expats, also celebrated the special birthday of their leader, said its office bearers.
“We are lucky and proud to have Modiji as our leader. He is one of the top Indian leaders the world has ever seen. We wish to reinforce the Indian concept of universal family (Vasudaiva Kudumbakam) which Modiji has been promoting everywhere and we wish him health and happiness to continue to serve our nation and the world for many more years,” said one of them.
Young fans send wishes too
IPF Dubai organised a virtual celebration of the occasion which saw the participation of not just adults, but also young fans of Modi.
Children from different emirates conveyed their best wishes to the prime minister with the traditonal ‘namasthe’ greetings.
“Happy birthday Modiji. may God bless you with strong health and long life. Enjoy your day,” said one of the children, Alysha Tyagi, 5.
The organisation has also arranged a blood donation camp in Abu Dhabi on Friday to mark the occasion.
Promoted with the hashtag #itsformypm, IPF is organising the blood donation drive in the Abu Dhabi blood bank behind Khalidiya Mall.
“It is a social service. We have been given the permission to include 65 volunteers to donate blood tomorrow. It will be held from 1pm to 6pm on Friday,” said one of the coordinators.
