Will Ahimsa go viral?

The Irish band U2's collaboration with A R Rahman ahead of their much-awaited India tour is surprisingly a song that speaks of comfort, says Rashmi Vasudeva

U2 are coming to India in December. (Yes, finally). ‘Ahimsa’ though has already landed.

Ahead of their long-awaited India tour, U2 have teamed up with A R Rahman for a new single ‘Ahimsa’, a collaboration that came about because, as Rahman said in an interview, “it simply had to”.

The legendary Irish rockers had been exchanging ideas over email with Rahman for a while before they actually got to meet him. Incidentally, the musician was recovering from a sprained leg in Boston but still managed to potter up to New York to meet the band members. Thus was born ‘Ahimsa’ in New York’s famed ‘Electric Lady Studios’, originally built by the guitar supremo Jimi Hendrix. Now if that is not apt, what is!

But ‘Ahimsa’ is a surprise, to put it mildly. One hardly expects a Rahman-U2 song to begin with a hymn from Tirukkural, the classical Tamil text containing teachings on virtue and love. But it does, and beautifully so, in the voices of Rahman’s daughters Khatija and Raheema. As their calm voices gently float away, comes Bono’s powerful vocals ending in a grand first chorus that is both uplifting and comforting at the same time — a feat Rahman has achieved earlier with many numbers, especially with the theme music of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Bombay’.

The maestro’s own voice too is heard in between; one can quibble about its quality but certainly not its earnestness.

Apparently, the song is meant to showcase the might of non-violence. It is not always that such lofty ambitions are realised, but here, the creators seem to have broken through.

Play By Ear is a new column which will showcase a potential earworm every week for you, the discerning listener, who is on the hunt for some musical serendipity and is keen to explore genres beyond pop and Bollywood. Write to us about your favourites at [e-mail]. If we like’em, we might feature them.