Sona Mohapatra releases acoustic version of 'O ri chiraiya'

"O ri chiraiya" was composed by Ram Sampath for Aamir Khan's TV show, "Satyamev Jayate". The song's lyrics were penned by Swananad Kirkire.

The singer felt it was a perfect time to revisit the song amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

"The ‘chiraiya' bird in the song that I sing for this time is our motherland, India, and also our Mother Earth. On the occasion of Mother's Day, I want to urge people to get together and think about what we can do for our mothers for a change. Our own, the country and the earth, all three of them nurture us and we all can do much better in paying them back with more consideration and care," Mohapatra said.

She added: "When the song was created, it was with the intention of creating an equitable society where the girl child is treated fairly and not killed in the womb as is the case in many parts of India. The song was one of hope back then and now we need a different kind of hope to come out of the darkness of this pandemic that we all face together as a society."

She feels a "great song can distill thousands of feelings in a few profound lines".

"This song has the ability to move mountains. I hope that it spreads the message of all of us striving to create a better world that is more aware and empathetic. We have abused nature so recklessly that I believe that we should take this current situation as a wake up call. Above all, I hope that this song spreads love and healing just like a mother does," she added.

Mohapatra and Kirkire had an one hour long chat, reminiscing about their journey on the TV show together. They were also joined by composer Ram for sometime.

Mohapatra has rendered "O ri chiraiya" on her #GuitarwaleGaane series. It also features maestro musicians Sanjoy Das on guitars and Tapas Roy on the folk instrument -- dotara, playing with her from different locations.