“You must pass your days in song. Let your whole life be a song” so said the famous Indian saint Sai Baba. As a special dedication to such a great preacher of peace and lover of song, India’s Flagship music company Saregama India Ltd launched a well-known playback singer Richa Sharma’s soulfully-devotional album called ‘Sai Ki Tasveer’.
Apart from being a tribute to the great sage, the album also marked the opening of a new Sai Baba temple in Faridabad, which has recently been built by Richa Sharma in loving memory of her parents Late Pandit Daya Shankar and Late Manorama Devi. The album which is named ‘Sai Ki Tasveer’ and sung by Richa, is not only her way of paying homage to the saint, but also her way of blessing the opening of this new temple, in the most appropriate way.
Thus, both the launch of the album and the temple’s opening will took place on the same day, which was the 25th of March. However, this was actually a 5 day program that had performances from various artists from the 21st of March, and proceeded all the way to the album’s launch day on March 25th 2011.
Says Adarsh Gupta, Music Head, Saregama India ltd, “We at Saregama do our level best to make sure that our culture and tradition is kept alive so that our roots are not forgotten. In this age when people are moving away from faith we want them to remember Sai Baba who taught moral code of love, contentment, inner peace and devotion, which is the idea of ‘Sai Ki Tasveer’. We are extremely proud and happy to be launching this new album by Richa Sharma. Richa has put in a lot of effort in the making of the Sai temple in Faridabad, with her passion and hard work that she put into the album we are sure to reach out to all the Sai Baba devotees & create a positive environment.”
The schedule for the performances lining up the 5 day period was as follows – On the 21st, which is first day of the program, Anup Jalota, well known for his ghazals and bhajans, performed at 8pm. Delhi based artist – Tarun Sagar performed on the 22nd, whilst local artists from Delhi performed numerous songs singing about – Sai Baba – on the 23rd. On the 24th, the “Sthapna” of the temple took place and the album launch, press conference and show-casing of the A.V. took place, post where Richa Sharma herself began performing along with known Punjabi and bollywood singer – Hans Raj Hans.
“I am formless and everywhere” is also another one of Sai Baba’s most famous quotes. Surely enough if that saying holds true, he is sure to be there at the event as well, as so many of his followers and admirers gather to celebrate his name and memory, in praise and song.
Ankit Tiwari, Bitto, Mahant Om Nath Sharma, Richa Sharma
Launch of Sai Ki Tasvir by Richa Sharma
Singer Hans Raj Hans
Richa Sharma performance
