US marks India's Republic Day with 'Vande Mataram' rendition by Grammy-nominated singer

The US Embassy in India took celebrations of the 74th Republic Day up a notch by releasing a soulful, goosebump-inducing music video of India's national song, Vande Mataram. The video, shared on Twitter, shows US officers Raghavan and Stephanie playing the flute and guitar respectively, with vocalist Pavithra Chari in a traditional blue saree, singing the patriotic melody with the tricolor in the background.

“Happy 74th Republic Day, India! We are celebrating #RepublicDay with a rendition of national song Vande Mataram! US Officers Raghavan (flute) & Stephanie (guitar) team up with @pavithra_chari, singer featured on a 2023 #GRAMMYs nominated album & a @StateDept @1beatmusic alum!” the embassy captioned the clip.

Uploaded on the morning of Thursday, the clip has garnered 2,203 views and several comments. Reacting to it, one user wrote: “Thank you, very nice. Great choice of tune for Vande Mataram.” Another user wrote, “Ah fabulous rendition. Thank you.” A third user added, “Thank you @POTUS @USAndIndia . It was a lovely gesture.”

Happy 74th Republic Day, India! We are celebrating #RepublicDay with a rendition of 🇮🇳 national song Vande Mataram! US Officers Raghavan (flute) & Stephanie (guitar) team up with @pavithra_chari, singer featured on a 2023 #GRAMMYs nominated album & a @StateDept @1beatmusic alum! pic.twitter.com/sUUU5tvTST

— U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia)

How is the US celebrating India's Republic Day?

The United States is in full swing to celebrate India’s Republic Day, with the State Department referring to Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s remark of India and the US having the world’s “most consequential” partnership. “Happy 74th Republic Day India! We join you today in celebrating India's Constitution. As @SecBlinken said, “the partnership between India and the United States is simply one of the most consequential in the world. Look forward to our continued collaboration!” it tweeted. 

Earlier on Wednesday, the department shared that it will be conducting an online summit which will be presented by the US-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment on January 26. “On January 26, at 1 p.m. EST, join @stategwi, @state_sca, and #USIndia Alliance @shatterfund to hear about ways the U.S. and India are collaborating to promote women’s economic security,” it wrote.