Indian girl sings in 120 languages, breaks Guinness World Record
Suchetha Satish sang for 7 hours and 20 minutes, smashes 13-year-old record
Suchetha Satish, a Grade 11 student of the Indian High School in Dubai, broke the previous record held by Kesiraju Srinivas from India, who had set the record in 2008 by singing in 76 languages.
A16-year-old Indian girl in the UAE has set a new Guinness World Record for most languages sung in a concert, by singing in 120 languages in 7 hours and 20 minutes.
Suchetha Satish, a Grade 11 student of the Indian High School in Dubai, broke the record held by Kesiraju Srinivas from India, who had set the record in 2008 by singing in 76 languages.
Suchetha’s concert, titled ‘Music Beyond Borders,’ was held on August 19 at the Indian Consulate auditorium in Dubai as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of India’s independence.
Cultural ambassador
Dr Aman Puri, Consul General of India in Dubai, who had inaugurated the concert, said Suchetha has been a true cultural ambassador for India in the UAE.
Just a couple of days after her 16th birthday, Suchetha had impressed the diverse audience at the concert by her perfect diction as she rendered songs in 29 Indian and 91 foreign languages.
Suchetha had started with a devotional song in Sanskrit and then sang in alphabetical order in different languages, in every letter starting from A to Z.
Suchetha’s songs in Basque (spoken in parts of Spain), Yakut (spoken in Yakutsk region of Russia), Breton (spoken in parts of France) have already become very popular among the native speakers.
Perfect diction
Asked how she manages to get the perfect diction, she said: “It is all by God’s grace.”
But she also works hard to render her songs perfectly. Having started learning music at the young age of three, Suchetha spends a lot of time every day to fine-tune her singing.
Suchetha said she can sing in 132 languages and is confident she will be able to sing in at least 200 languages. Her role model is the versatile Bollywood singer Shreya Ghoshal and her mentor is the legendary South Indian singer and Guinness record holder P. Susheela.
Hailing from Kerala, Suchetha’s parents have been her source of inspiration and support. Her father, Dr T.C. Satish, a senior dermatologist in Dubai, said he was “happy that this record could come at an opportune moment as our second home, the UAE, celebrates its 50th year of formation [this year], and India celebrates its 75th year of Independence”.
Suchetha’s mother, Sumitha Ayilliath, a former faculty member at the American College of Dubai and an artist in her own right, was thrilled that Suchetha sang her original songs in Arabic and Hindi.
Tribute to UAE’s 50 years
“The Arabic song titled ‘Fifty Glorious Years’ was a tribute to 50 years of the public life of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VicePresident and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It was penned by noted Emirati poet Dr Shihab Ghanem,” she said.
“The final song in Hindi was a tribute to India and its leader Prime Minister Narendra Modi titled ‘Namo NaMo Vishwaguru Bharat’ and penned by me and Dubai-based singer-lyricist Ajaygopal.”