Palash Sen on Euphoria's anthem for CWG as against Rahman's song for the opening ceremonyDr. Palash Sen is excited. He had written a heartfelt ode to Delhi 10 years ago, which is now the anthem of the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and the theme song for New Delhi itself. Wait, before you wonder what there leaves A.R. Rahman's song India bula liya, specially composed for the Games, let's clear the air. Rahman's song, commissioned by the CWG Organising Committee, will be the theme song for the Games and the opening ceremony while Palash's song, commissioned by the Delhi state government, will be the anthem for the Games and theme song for Delhi for years to come.Ever since this news trickled in, music lovers have been perplexed. Palash doesn't want to be dragged into a controversy. “It's not like our song is the national anthem, so there's no need to be confused,” he laughs. Palash and his band Euphoria were approached, he recalls, on May 14, for a song. Euphoria worked on a 30-second English song which was then developed into a full-length song. Along the way, he sang the Hindi song Dilli Meri Jaan to Sheila Dixit who loved it so much that she asked him to make it the theme song for the Games. Both the English and Hindi songs abide by the signature Hind rock format of Euphoria.Meanwhile, Palash's Euphoria has ushered in two new musicians — keyboard player Vinayak Gupta, 23, and guitarist Amborish Saikia, 25, to replace Benjamine Pinto and Hitesh Madan who quit the group recently citing differences with Palash. “Parting ways is always emotional and hurts. But the core group remains the same. The young guys have brought in fresh energy and sounds,” says Palash. The new team is recording its next album which will be released in November. A documentary made on the band, tracing their journey and capturing the thought and work that went into each of their videos, will be released online on nyootv.com beginning September 17.Euphoria has more on its plate. After composing a song for Rahul Dholakia'sLamha, the band has composed for Mammooty's Malayalam film Best of Luck. “It was a different experience. Recently, I also sang in Tamil song for the filmKatcheri Arambam. Singing in Tamil was very tough. Now I am looking forward to a Telugu song,” he says with a smile.http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/article605497.ece
