Howdy Modi: Specially-abled kid to sing National Anthem

Indian-origin 16-year-old Sparsh Shah is to perform at the mega event in Houston.

Out of the nearly 400 artists to perform during the mega 'Howdy, Modi!' event, is Sparsh Shah, a specially abled child of Indian origin from New Jersey, US, is to sing the Indian National Anthem in front of about 50,000 people, on Sunday.

Sparsh, a 16-year-old prodigy, suffers from osteogenesis imperfecta or brittle bone disease and has broken more than 130 bones over the years, according to reports. He is a singer, rapper, songwriter and inspirational speaker.

“I am honored & humbled to be invited to sing the Indian National Anthem at a Community Summit in honor of the Prime Minister of India, Shri @narendramodi; in the presence of the President of USA, Mr @realdonaldtrump & 50,000 audience members in Houston, TX+Billions watching live!” Sparsh Shah had tweeted on Monday.

"I will be performing the national anthem 'Jana Gana Mana' tomorrow morning at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, for the 'Howdy, Modi' event before the speech of our PM Narendra Modi and, of course, President Trump is also going to be there, so it's a super huge event," he told India Today.

Sparsh Shah's first cover was Eminem's 'Not Afraid', which got him 65 million views online and was also recognised by Eminem's album label on Twitter.

He dedicated his first album, which was in Purhythm genre, is a musical style he came up, to Eminem, according to the website Disability Horizons.

“Special thanks to the Texas India Forum and Mela Productions for bestowing this honor! I am proud to represent Voice of Specially Abled People at this prestigious event,” Shah also said on his Facebook page.

Shah, at this young age, is the Youth Ambassador for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Voice of Specially Abled People (VOSAP), Mission Possible-Never Start. He is ranked as one of the Top 10 Indian origin child prodigies by Yahoo in 2018. Shah even participated in Kaun Banega Crorepati (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire), and various other radio and television programmes.