**Bhubaneswar:** Giving the fans a musical surprise, Odisha Chief Minister has announced the official collaboration between award-winning music director AR Rahman and noted lyricist Gulzaar Sahab for the official song of Men’s Hockey World Cup that is all set to take place in smart city’s Kalinga Stadium in November.
The Chief Minister also took to Twitter to announce that musical genius AR Rahman will be performing the song live in Bhubaneswar on the day of opening ceremony making it his maiden performance in the heritage State.
“Delighted to announce that India’s pride @arrahman is creating official #HWC2018 Song with the legendary #Gulzar Sahab. At the Opening Ceremony of #HWC2018 Rahman will perform it Live, his first performance in Odisha. Let the musical symphony create magic #HeartBeatsForHockey”, tweeted the CM.
The Odisha Government roped in Grammy and Oscar winning composer Rahman for composing the song titled “Jai Hind Hind, Jai India”, which is penned by Gulzar.
“Nothing says India more than our beloved sport hockey. And nothing is more exciting than the world’s biggest hockey tournament happening right here, on our turf,” Rahman said in a statement.
“It’s heart-warming to see the entire nation pledge their heartbeats for hockey. As an extension of pledging our heartbeats, Gulzar Sahab and I have created the World Cup song. A song that will excite and inspire, as also get you on your feet,” added the music maestro.
Naveen Patnaik said, “We are delighted to have Rahman compose the song for the Odisha Hockey World Cup. It will be an honour to have him perform live in Bhubaneswar. He is the voice of India and now with this song, the voice of India is the voice of the world cup.”
“We are also fortunate to have Gulzar Sahab add his poetic magic to the composition. Coming together of these two legends will not only inspire the players but will also get the entire nation together to support this wonderful game unfolding in Odisha at the world cup,” he added.
Meanwhile, this news has added more excitement to the air as sports fanatics and adrenaline junkies cannot keep their calm for the sporting extravaganza that will be held from 28 November to 16 December 2018 in title partnership with Odisha Tourism.
(With IANS Inputs)
