Grammy nomination for Narendra Modi’s song on millets: It was PM’s idea, says singer Falu

The song Abundance in Millets has won Grammy nomination this year in the Best Music Performance category. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has collaborated with Grammy Award winner Falguni Shah to create the song. Shah, an Indian-American singer and composer goes by the stage name Falu.In 2022, Falu won the Grammy for "A Colourful World" in the best Children’s Music Album category. After this, the Prime Minister invited her over to his house and asked her to make a song on millets. The Prime Minister himself features in the song.Times Special spoke to Falu from New York after Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially released the song in June this year.What did the Prime Minister say during his meetings with you? “We always talk about music. We don't talk about anything else. He is such a music lover. He is such a brilliant mind to put two and two together. He used music as a powerhouse to send his message out of helping farmers to grow millets. Through that the end result would be: he could help end world hunger. His plan is to use music as a powerhouse to do both these things. I asked him how did he like the song. It took us six months to go back and forth. He was so excited. I could tell from his tone that he really liked the way the song turned out. Will there be more collaborations between you and him? I always believe in using music for a bigger cause. In my work, at Carnegie Hall, I also do music for rehabilitation in prisons. I use music as a powerful tool to bond between a mom and a baby by writing lullabies. To me, music is not just an entertainment tool, but it's such a big thing. If it is a cause that you know improves something in society, I will absolutely do it. I have to make music for the betterment of humanity. When and how did you get the idea of collaborating with the Prime Minister? The idea came from him. It was not my idea. He said to me you are a global musician, your music reaches beyond boundaries, I want you to write a song on millets. He said: write a song so you can help farmers grow more millets in small villages. Small farmers can benefit in low rainfall. Once the produce is done, it can be exported, and help end hunger. He said think on those lines and use your music for the benefit of humanity. And the seeds were sown by him for this particular song. What inputs did Modi provide? He took a lot of interest. It was not just concept. Once we came back to America after my India tour, I started working on it. The minute the meeting with the Prime Minister ended, I started thinking about what I have to do. He sent me a book that the Indian government has written on millets. I read the entire book page to page. I also did my own research on what millet does. Jowar, bajra, ragi and nachni are all super grains. I had to individually do research on the nutritional benefits of these grains because if you have to write a song, you better know everything about it. A little bit of time went in that and then once I came up with the song idea, I recorded it. Then we sent it to the Prime Minister. Even in my meeting I said to him it would be fantastic if you wrote it with us. Nobody has ever asked him to write a song. A child in me was just fluttering and I said: would you mind writing it with us? He said, “Yes”. I took that very seriously and went back to him and said, “Please write a speech according to these lyrics, record and send it to us. We will put it in music. So he sent us five different speeches”. We picked and chose the ideas that matched the most with the lyrics of the song. There is a team of professionals that work with us. Our team is in San Francisco in LA. We're all spread out. But my team came together and it was a teamwork of putting this song together. Once the speech was finalized, we put it in music, and we sent it back to him. It went back a couple of times, and then the final thing came in May. Then we mixed it, mastered it and we released it. What was the Prime Minister's reaction when he heard the complete song? I was told that he was very excited. I was here in New York so I couldn't see his one-on-one reaction. But the reaction was fabulous. He really, really liked it. How long did it take for the song to be complete? I’ve been collaborating with him for five months. This is not a theme of love and separation and longing. This is a theme about greens. It needs to be in two languages--English and Hindi--so it has to be cohesive. The cohesiveness and continuity have to happen. How many streaming platforms has this song been released on? Every streaming platform worldwide. Is there any other project similar to this that you wish to work on? Projects just fall in my lap, I don't really go seeking them. I'm going to just focus on trying to get this song as much out as possible so that we can help farmers and then try to help end hunger. Even if one child in this world doesn't sleep hungry. I think my job has been done. Tell us about your win at the Grammy Awards. It was fantastic. It was like a little child getting the video game. It's a very vulnerable moment when you are sitting there waiting. When you're nominated, you're nervous because there are other four people who have been chosen. It could be only 20 per cent chance that you would win. So everyone on the team was nervous. But when the name was called out, God just blessed us. What are the learnings from the collaboration with the Prime Minister?Perfection, detail, complete concentration on whatever task you're doing, and thorough research. If I was writing anything about buckwheat, or jowar, or bajari, I made 15 recipes to see how that works. The Prime Minister sent me a book with different recipes from across the world, right from Argentina and France on how the millets are used there. I experimented to see how it tastes, because music and food go hand-in-hand. Taste, sound and smell are all connected. And if I like the taste, I will write a better melody. Audio Production: Prateek KapoorYou can listen to the song on all her social media handles @falumusic. Her website is www.falumusic.com