Thaindian News

New Delhi, Feb 15 (IANS) India’s leading folk, rock and pop band Indian Ocean Tuesday released a ditty “India Wants to Play” to inspire the countrymen to take to active part in sports in the run-up to the cricket World Cup.”The four-and-a-half minute song that urges everyone to participate in sports keeping the forthcoming cricket World Cup in mind, has been adopted by sports retail chain Planet Sports as their anthem,” Rahul Ram, lead vocalist and song-writer of the Indian Ocean, told IANS.

“The song happened in a spirit of playfulness when a Delhi-based ace percussionist Abhinav Dhar (founder of the ad agency Dhar & Hoon) suggested three months back that we write a song about how India should warm up to the spirit of sports. We wrote a song, set it to music and Planet Sports picked it up,” he said.

Formed in 1994 in the capital, Indian Ocean is known for its cult singles like “Kandisa” and for the powerful tracks it composed and performed for the movie “Black Friday”.

Indian Ocean has been consistently on the top of the country’s contemporary music charts since it was formed with its innovative fusion of folk, rock, classical and pop music influenced by the traditional music of India.

The band is working on two new CDs which are compilations of its old songs, including one named after its Karol Bagh studio “16/330, Khajur Road”.

“The band will move of its old studio space next month it had been occupying since 1997 next month,” said Rahul Ram.