‘Concert for Climate’: Indian expat in Dubai sings for 9 hours in 140 languages

Dubai: An Indian expat in Dubai sang for nine hours in 140 languages at the ‘Concert for Climate’ event held at the auditorium of the Indian Consulate in Dubai on Friday to raise awareness about sustainability.

Multiple records holder Suchetha Satish performed the show as a prelude to the UN climate conference, COP28, to be held at Expo City Dubai from November 30 to December 12.

The language count of 140 was selected symbolically to represent the 140 heads of state invited by the UAE for COP28. The event was inaugurated by Sri Kalimuthu, Consul Economic, Trade and Commerce, in the presence of Tadu Mamu, Consul Labour and Culture.

Suchetha started her concert saying that “music beyond boundaries” has always been her motto, and her love for nature also transcends borders. “Climate change is very real and it’s our duty to prevent it,” she said.

Suchetha started signing in different languages in alphabetical order by 12pm with an Awadhi song and ended her concert at 9pm with a song dedicated to India in Hindi. The song list included foreign language songs and those in Indian languages, some of which are vulnerable or endangered.

The event was also an official Guinness World Records attempt for the most languages sung in a concert. The event was witnessed by musical stalwarts such as Indian national award winning music composer M Jayachandran and representatives from the media and film industry including Prajesh Sen, the acclaimed Malayalam film director, known for his socially relevant movies, as well as people from different walks of life.

Abdulla Al Saleh, undersecretary at the UAE Ministry of Economy and Abdelaziz Harib, Negotiator at COP28, also attended the event and praised the efforts of the singer.