Your singers will enjoy learning this song from India that celebrates the Diwali Festival of Lights. It is in the Konkani language, which is the official language of the Indian state of Goa. Learn the pronunciation on the VoiceTrax CD or sing with the alternate English text. The authentic sitar and tabla sounds on the recorded accompaniment give this selection special appeal. Performance Time: Approx. 2:20.

Arranger: John Higgins | Country: India

Balleilakka is a song from the Tamil film Sivaji, which means "The Boss." Tamil is the language of the Southern Indian province of Tamil Nadu whose capital, Chennai (Madras under British rule) is India's third-largest city and A.R. Rahman's home. An old language dating back to before 300 B.C., Tamil is the native language of Singapore and Sri Lanka as well as tens of millions of Indians (there are almost 2,000 newspapers in print in Tamil today of which about 350 are daily papers). The text of this piece is a tongue-twister lamenting how traditional Indian culture is being subsumed and listing the speaker's memories of his homeland in increasingly faster syllabic patterns.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Country: India | Musical: Sivaji

Barso Re, written by A. R. Rahman and arranged for choir by Ethan Sperry, appeared in the soundtrack of the 2007 film Guru. It is an Indian take on how beautiful it can be to sing in the rain. For percussion, use a beaded gourd shaker, rasp, or tambourine for the upper line and one or more djembes or floor toms for the lower line.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Country: India | Musical: Guru

Based on a popular folk song from the Gujarat region of Northwest India, the voices in this rhythmic folk dance alternate, representing percussion instruments, and the piece also includes suggestions for hand percussion and hand clapping. Accessible while offering harmonic sounds that are fresh and new, this selection introduces a part of the world not often explored with music.

Composer: Sheena Phillips | Country: India

Available separately: SATB, SAB, SSA, ShowTrax CD. Rhythm Section parts available digitally (syn, gtr, b, perc, dm). Duration: ca. 3:00.

Arranger: Mark Brymer | Country: India | TV/Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

From the film Slumdog Millionaire here is a wonderful fusion of Indian rhythms and scales with American pop styles and instrumentation. Excellent program notes offer guidance for the style, there is an easy to understand pronunciation guide to help with the Hindi language and a separate percussion score.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Country: India | TV/Movie: Slumdog Millionaire

Jai Ho was written for the 2008 Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire. While this is a British movie, director Tony Boyle wanted to acknowledge Indian tradition. He asked A.R. Rahman to write a song in the style of his music for the Indian cinema to be choreographed and performed during the ending credits. The resulting piece is a victory dance capturing the essence of the movie's story.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Country: India | Musical: Slumdog Millionaire

Lasting less than six minutes in duration, this traditional Punjabi melody and text have been arranged for mixed chorus, piano four-hands and percussion. The vocal style should be light and buoyant with a few notated ornaments to give it the traditional Indian music quality. Includes a pronunciation guide and translation and extensive performance notes. Duration: ca. 5:30.

Arranger: Stephen Hatfield | Country: India

O Saya was written for the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire. The song appears at the beginning as we are introduced to just how horrible living conditions are in the slums of India. The lyrics have no meaning, nor does the title. They are just nonsense syllables that form a wail. The melodic patterns are based loosely on the patterns one might hear in the slums as the Muslim call to worship blasts from the minarets, but they are more a call to action than a call to prayer. When people sing this piece, hopefully they will consider taking some action against poverty themselves.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Country: India | Musical: Slumdog Millionaire

Indian pop sensation A.R. Rahman composed this Bollywood inspired song for the musical Bombay Dreams produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The blend of pop and traditional Indian music create a diverse sound that will bring energy and vibrancy to pop and show choir programs!

Arranger: Ed Lojeski | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Lyricist: Don Black | Country: India | Musical: Bombay Dreams

India's annual festival of lights is becoming increasingly popular around the world. This Bollywood-style original details various traditions associated with the celebration, including the food, fireworks, and colorful rangoli patterns made of sand. Plenty of unison phrases and simple call-and-response make it a joy to learn and perform. A great way to represent the diversity of your community!

Arranger: Lois Brownsey | Country: India

A. R. Rahman is an Indian film composer who wrote this piece for the soundtrack of the documentary film Bose: The Forgotten Hero. A portion of the gross sales are being donated to Mr. Rahman's foundation to help alleviate poverty in India. While the text of Zikr is religious, the piece is not intended to be used in a worship ceremony. The percussion may be performed using one or two drums that produce bass tones and a tambourine or similar castanet. For the most authentic performance, the low drum should be a dumbeck, but djembes, frame drums, floor toms or even Taikos will work effectively. Percussion part is free with purchase of multiple copies.

Arranger: Ethan Sperry | Composer: A.R. Rahman | Country: India | Musical: Bose: The Forgotten Hero