Holi, A R Rahman & Artikrti: Celebrating Culture Connect
Today is Holi- a festival of colours that is celebrated in India and the world over by people from varied cultures & countries. This is one festival from India that has been adopted & celebrated by people of all races because of it's spirit of oneness, and the celebration of good over evil- the core of the Holi Festival- are starting to resonate with folks throughout the globe. And for the very same reason, the festival resonates with the Culture Connect spirit of Artikrti.
Music is one such universal culture connect icon and the music of Oscar award winning A R Rahman from Chennai, India has brought together people from all cultures. So, I thought it would be hugely fitting to introduce to Artikrti's fans, on this Holi day, a song composed for Holi, by A R Rahman and filmed poetically by Bharat Bala, a celebrated ad and feature film maker from Chennai, India.
The music and film resonate with Artikrti's spirit of Culture Connect- to get people from the world over to delve, dive and delight in aspects of India that make the country so unique. The celebration of colours is metaphorically a celebration of the different races on this mother earth and the film captures that by featuring global citizens and not just Indians in this mosaic of colours, dance and music. The message of the film is "Vasudeva Kuttumbakam" which is a Sanskrit phrase from the centuries old Maha Upanishads, a collection of writing & verse for life, from ancient India. And it means "The World is One Family". What an awesome thought for us all to reflect, adopt and live our lives.
P.S. On a personal note- this song and this film resonates with me personally not just for its meaning and message but also because the creators- A R Rahman and Bharat Bala- take me back to my days in Chennai. Going back in time, during my rookie days in advertising I have had the pleasure to work with both of them on ad projects and enjoyed every moment of it. Talented folks who are also great human beings. Friends for life.
