Austria:Austrian artists, who sang 'Vande Mataram' in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after he arrived at the hotel in Vienna, have called it a "phenomenal experience" and a big honour.
Ibrahim, an Austrian artist from the choir and orchestra that sang Vande Mataram in front of PM Modi, said that the orchestra had been preparing for the performance for a few days and called it a "huge opportunity" for Austria and the orchestra.
Speaking to ANI, he said, "It was a phenomenal experience. I really enjoyed it. It's a big honour for me. It's a huge honour. I did prepare quite a lot. With the orchestra, we prepared for a few days. But, also at home, I had to really give my best because this is a huge opportunity for Austria, for us, for our orchestra. It was an amazing experience."
Asked about his interaction with PM Modi, he said, "It was amazing. You can really see that he cares for the people. And I really noticed that feeling. I felt warm next to him, with him."
Vijay Upadhyay, the Musician who headed the choir and orchestra that sang Vande Mataram in front of PM Modi, said he is from Uttar Pradesh's Lucknow.
He said that a choir and orchestra with a total of 50 members performed in front of PM Modi. He said, "I am from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. I came to this college in Austria and I am now directing the music department at Vienna University."
"The first thing I did was to find out what to do two weeks ago. In Western music, the orchestra or the singers have to write everything down. So first I had to write it down in two days, then I had to rehearse it. We decided to perform Vande Mataram in Austria-European Symphony style. A choir and an orchestra with a total of 50 members performed in front of PM Modi," he added.
Speaking about his interaction with PM Modi, Upadhyay said, "We should think that PM Modi is also a human being. He came from Russia. He must have been tired but he has so much energy. I wonder where he got it from. I told him I was from Lucknow and he said he is from Uttar Pradesh. I have been here for so many years, but I should keep my civilization. So, my contact with PM Modi."
Antonia, an Austrian artist from the choir and orchestra, called it an "enormous experience" to have played the song in front of him.
"It was an enormous experience. I never played in front of such a big honoured person. So it was a little bit crazy actually because there are so many famous people here. So, that we can play in front of them is just fantastic. I think we prepared like two weeks or something. So, Vijay wrote the song for us and then we chatted about some rehearsals and then we did this in like, yeah, two weeks or something," Antonia told ANI.
Asked about PM Modi's reaction while the orchestra was performing, she responded, "He looked at us with such big eyes and I also saw a little smile on his face and that was a really beautiful moment for us."
She said that PM Modi also interacted with the orchestra members and called him a friendly person. Speaking about her interaction with PM Modi, Antonia said, "He was really friendly. He came to us like a friend actually. He entered the group, we took a photo with him. He signed our notes. So he was a really friendly person."
