KANNUR: Suchetha Sathish is on cloud nine. Her musical feat — singing 120 songs in 120 languages in seven-hours and 20 minutes — has earned her a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. The 16-year-old, who attempted the feat during a concert ‘Music Beyond Borders’ in Dubai on August 19, has broken the record set by another Indian, Kesiraju Srinivas who sang in 76 languages, in 2008.
The songs were sung in 29 Indian languages and 91 world languages. She began her attempt at 12pm with the rendition of a Sanskrit song, ‘Janaki Jane’ from Dhwani, a Malayalam film. She concluded the attempt for the record with a Hindi song written by her mother Sumitha Ayilliath, an artist, and composed by Bollywood composer Monty Sharma.
The programme was staged at the Indian Consulate Auditorium in Dubai and attended by Dr Aman Puri , Consul General of India in Dubai, as part of the 75th anniversary celebrations of India’s Independence and the 50th anniversary of the formation of the UAE.
Suchetha’s father Dr T C Sathish is a dermatologist at Unicare Medical Centre, Dubai. Both her parents are from Kannur. The Plus One student of Indian High School, Dubai, had caught the eye of musicians when she sang songs in 102 languages at the age of 12.
Suchetha, who was Initiated into music by her parents at the age of three, started learning Carnatic music initially. She later switched to Hindustani music. Now, she learns Carnatic music from renowned play back singer Asha Menon and Hindustani music from Sujatha Harish Kumar and Jayaprasad.
“Dubai has given me a good platform to learn songs in various languages since it is a mix of world cultures. We also have a lot of friends from across India,” Suchetha said. She further added that it was her friends who helped her with the diction while singing in different languages. Her brother, Sushanth, is a third year medical student. The officials of Guinness Book of World Records recognized her achievement on their website on September 25.
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