SINGAI NAADU - Singapore Sounds Live! SG50

Originally written and performed by singer-songwriter Shabir Tabare Alam, Singai Naadu was first featured during the Singapore National Day Parade in 2012.

This song was written with intent to reflect the diversity of the Indian community which has been well-received and embraced by the other different ethnic groups in Singapore. The Singaporean Indian community has remained in quite a conundrum. One of the reasons being that the are considered "too little too much" - they are the minority but they are culturally, socially and linguistically complex and diverse. They have the language categories such as Tamil, Hindi, Telugu, Punjabi, Malayalam, Sindhi, Urdu and Kannada just to name a few. They are also of religious diversity - Indian Hindus, Indian Christians, Indian Muslims and Indian Buddhists.

The composer knew that over-analysing a Tamil National Day song may result in a formulaic, phoney, wannabe or even cheesy-sounding song packed with "objectives". He felt that the process of writing a song for his nation should be an organic one and thus, his trick is to not be too lofty. Shabir triggered his emotional memories such as the things that he loved about this place he calls home. Before he knew it, he had written Singai Naadu in a single night.

"Singai" means "Lion" in Tamil. It is also an abbreviation for Singapore among the Tamil community. "Naadu" means "Country", hence this works aptly as the state "Singai Naadu" which translates to "Lion Country".

Since its premiere, this song has been very well-received by Singaporeans. Part of the song's success could be attributed to seizing the opportunity. The composer also stressed that when there are no opportunities, we sometimes have to create them. The system of meritocracy allows every Singaporean to create, collaborate and cultivate. How we use it, lies in our hands...

This orchestral version of Singai Naadu is arranged by composer/conductor Zaidi Sabtu-Ramli, for the Singapore Sounds SG50 Gala Concert featuring ethnic groups such as Orkestra Sri Temasek, Ding Yi Music Company and Flame of the Forest.