The Shillong Chamber Choir (SSC), founded in 2001 by Neil Nongkynrih, is all set to become a part of the country’s space history as India looks to becoming the first nation to reach closest to the Moon’s south pole. The ambitious Chandrayaan 2 moon mission is scheduled to land on the lunar surface after midnight today.
The song Vande Mataram, written and composed by Nongkynrih, will be played during the satellite landing of Chandrayaan 2. The live telecast of the event is scheduled from 11:30 pm onwards on September 6th, 2019 on Hotstar, Star Plus, Disney India and National Geographic.
The song is a medley of Hindi and English. Oscar award-winning Resul Pookutty and Grammy award-winning Luke Rowher are also part of the song.
The SSC is a multi-genre choir which won the reality TV show India’s Got Talent in 2010. The same year also saw the choir being awarded three gold awards at the 6th World Choir Games for Musica Sacra, Gospel and Popular Music.
They also performed at the Rashtrapati Bhavan for visiting US President Barak Obama and Michelle Obama during their state visit to India.
Congratulating the SSC, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma tweeted, “What a brilliant way to watch the historic landing of Chandrayaan 2 on the moon in sync with the beautiful voices of our beloved Shillong Chamber Choir.”
Vikram lander will make a soft landing on the surface of the moon somewhere between 1:30 am and 2:30 am on September 7th, 2019. The landing will be followed by the Rover – Pragyaan – which is housed inside the Vikram lander. The song Vande Mataram will be played for seven minutes before the spacecraft’s landing.
The Chandrayaan 2 is the most complex mission ever undertaken by the Indian Space Research Organisation.
Photo credit: @shillongchamberchoir
