Penn Masala
Encyclopedia
Penn Masala is the world's first and premier Hindi a cappella group, formed in 1996 by students at the University of Pennsylvania
. Penn Masala’s music has been influenced by the Eastern and Western cultures that represent the group’s membership. The group was featured on the soundtrack of American Desi
, and has released seven full-length albums: Awaaz, 11 PM, Soundcheck, The Brown Album, Pehchaan, On Detours, Panoramic, and the compilation album Out of Stock.
, who wanted to represent their subcontinental culture and music through a cappella
. Among other, more long-standing a cappella groups, Penn Masala stood out as the only a cappella group in the world that sang Hindi
music. This defining characteristic of the group brought it immediate attention as members fused Hindi and English music in original song formats. Soon, the group began to bill itself as "The world's first and premier Hindi a cappella group". Within just four years of its inception, Penn Masala had gained close to 20 members. By 2002, the group released its first two CDs: Awaaz (Hindi for sound) was released in 1999, and 11 PM was released in 2001. Over the next 3 years, Penn Masala released two more full-length albums, Soundcheck and The Brown Album, and a compilation CD entitled Out of Stock, which included favorites from the first 3 albums. In 2007, the group released its fifth studio album, Pehchaan (Hindi for identity). The group followed up the success of Pehchaan with their sixth album, On Detours, which was released in March 2009. This year, they released their seventh studio album titled Panoramic, which features their single "Viva La Vida/Jashn-e-Bahara".
; the group performs at numerous universities and events across the country, spanning cities from San Francisco to Boston
to Houston and Miami.
In 1999, soon after the release of Awaaz, Penn Masala went on its first international tour to the United Kingdom
, hitting the airwaves and performing all across the United Kingdom. The group gave two particularly noteworthy concerts in New York City: once in 2000 at the Zee
Gold Bollywood
Awards in the Nassau Coliseum, and again in 2002 at the Bollywood
Music Awards in the Hammerstein Ballroom
.
The group has also traveled to India several times. In 2002, the group traveled to Mumbai, India to perform at the Star Screen Awards
, during which time the members appeared on MTV
Asia. In 2006, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour of India. The men performed at such venues as the National Centre for the Performing Arts
at Nariman Point
in Mumbai
and Swabhumi
in Kolkata
. In January 2010, the group did another tour across India, selling out the Hard Rock Cafe
s in New Delhi and Mumbai. Penn Masala also performed at the Oberoi Trident
at a ceremony honoring the achievements of Reliance Industries
Chairman Mukesh Ambani
. Present were many notable personalities, including Nita Ambani
, director Rajkumar Hirani
, director/producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra
, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Farooq Abdullah
, actors Imran Khan
, Rahul Bose
and Vinod Khanna
, and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar
among others. The group also performed at the well-known Lumbini Park
Amphitheatre in Hyderabad, and were featured in numerous media outlets, including NDTV
, CNBC TV 18, BBC Asia
, The Hindustan Times, Zee TV, and CNN-IBN among others.
On October 14, 2009, Penn Masala performed at the White House
in Washington, D.C. for the White House's celebration of Diwali and the signing ceremony of the Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The event took place in the East Room
, with attendees including President Barack Obama
, the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Education, Associate Director of Public Engagement Kalpen Modi (also known as Kal Penn
), members of Congress, and distinguished community members. Penn Masala opened the ceremony with a performance which was followed by a speech by President Obama, who commended their creative energy and contributions to the Asian American community.
Penn Masala continued reaching out to audiences abroad with a tour of the United Kingdom in March 2010. Among others, two notable performances were at St. James Piccadilly in central London
, and in Hammersmith
, where the group headlined a nationwide music competition. In November 2010 Penn Masala performed in Montreal
, their first Canadian performance in ten years.
Penn Masala also holds a large annual spring concert at the University of Pennsylvania
in the university's largest performance venue, Irvine Auditorium
. The concert features a wide selection of their songs, and incorporates humor throughout the show using skits and videos that often parody or spoof popular culture. The end of the show is usually marked by a traditional gathering of Masala alumni and current members of the group on stage to commemorate the group and its extensive alumni network.
, hip-hop, R&B, rock
, and Indian Classical
styles. The group also uses a wide array of languages in their songs. Their compositions are primarily sung in English or Hindi, but certain songs include Arabic, Punjabi, Kannada, and Tamil as well.
Penn Masala blends popular songs to create its own independent version, which is melodically and thematically unified. Most songs fuse popular Hindi and English songs (in the past the group has covered songs by artists such as U2
and Justin Timberlake
), into an a cappella rendition. Some songs are purely Hindi; for example, "Mitwa" on Pehchaan, and "Yeh Honsla" on On Detours and others purely English, such as "What Goes Around Comes Around" on On Detours. Other songs, such as "Aicha" and "Aankhon Mein Tu Hai", incorporate Hindi and English lyrics into a single song. "Aankhon Mein Tu Hai" also includes Tamil
verses, "Saade Dil Te" incorporates a Punjabi
song, while "Masala Dosa" begins with the Kannada hymn "Krishna Ni Begane Baaro
" and "Aicha" includes Arabic verses.
While most of the group's songs are interpretations of already-existing songs, the group also composes originals, such as "Main Tanha" and "Pehchaan" on the album Pehchaan, "Kal Ka Sapna" and "Distant Places" on On Detours, and "Is Pal Mein" and "Kaash" on Panoramic.
Penn Masala's music has been popularly and critically acclaimed. "Meri Sapno Ki Rani" and "Aap Jaise Koi" were both featured in American Desi
, while a music video
was made for "Chamak Challo", which debuted in the Top 10 on Channel [V
] India. Both "Chamak Challo" and "Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai", a celebration of India's 50th anniversary of independence
, brought immediate attention to the group in the fall of 1997, and have been fan favorites ever since. In early 2010, the song "Lovestoned/Ya Ali" was selected for Varsity Vocals' Best of Collegiate A Cappella 2010 CD. This marks the third time Penn Masala has been featured on the compilation. The group was previously honored for "Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai" and "Pehchaan."
Penn Masala currently consists of: Akiff Premjee, Varshil Patel, Ram Narayan, Akshat Vaidya, Bharat Moudgil, Vinay Rao, Harshil Shukla, Samuel Levenson, Shriram Chauhan, Mahesh Murali, Rohan Murthy, and Dilip Rajan.
The group's early members included Naveen Wadhera, Alekh Dalal, Kunal Bajaj, Himanshu Sheth, Pankaj Kakkar, Mihir Talati, Abhijeet Patwardhan, Bud Bhattacharyya, Deep Trivedi, Brian Hong, Ameesh Shah, Veeral Rathod, and Ankur Gupta.
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. Penn Masala’s music has been influenced by the Eastern and Western cultures that represent the group’s membership. The group was featured on the soundtrack of American Desi
American Desi
American Desi is a 2001 American film with Indian influence, notable for featuring many prominent South Asian American actors. Also featured is an a cappella version of the Hindi classic "Aap Jaisa Koi", sung by Penn Masala and originally from the movie Qurbani...
, and has released seven full-length albums: Awaaz, 11 PM, Soundcheck, The Brown Album, Pehchaan, On Detours, Panoramic, and the compilation album Out of Stock.
History
Penn Masala, often stylized as PennMasala or pennmasala, was formed in 1996 by students at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, who wanted to represent their subcontinental culture and music through a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
. Among other, more long-standing a cappella groups, Penn Masala stood out as the only a cappella group in the world that sang Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
music. This defining characteristic of the group brought it immediate attention as members fused Hindi and English music in original song formats. Soon, the group began to bill itself as "The world's first and premier Hindi a cappella group". Within just four years of its inception, Penn Masala had gained close to 20 members. By 2002, the group released its first two CDs: Awaaz (Hindi for sound) was released in 1999, and 11 PM was released in 2001. Over the next 3 years, Penn Masala released two more full-length albums, Soundcheck and The Brown Album, and a compilation CD entitled Out of Stock, which included favorites from the first 3 albums. In 2007, the group released its fifth studio album, Pehchaan (Hindi for identity). The group followed up the success of Pehchaan with their sixth album, On Detours, which was released in March 2009. This year, they released their seventh studio album titled Panoramic, which features their single "Viva La Vida/Jashn-e-Bahara".
Performances
Penn Masala performs around the world, with much of their traveling done in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
; the group performs at numerous universities and events across the country, spanning cities from San Francisco to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
to Houston and Miami.
In 1999, soon after the release of Awaaz, Penn Masala went on its first international tour to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, hitting the airwaves and performing all across the United Kingdom. The group gave two particularly noteworthy concerts in New York City: once in 2000 at the Zee
Zee TV
Zee TV is an India-based satellite television channel owned by Zee Entertainment Enterprises based in Mumbai, Maharashtra, which broadcasts various programmes in Hindi and other regional languages of India. Broadcasting is also present in various nations of South Asia, Europe, the Middle East,...
Gold Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
Awards in the Nassau Coliseum, and again in 2002 at the Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
Music Awards in the Hammerstein Ballroom
Hammerstein Ballroom
The Hammerstein Ballroom is a two-tiered, 12,000 square feet ballroom located within the Manhattan Center Studios on 311 West 34th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States of America. It is known for its elegant appearance and excellent acoustical design...
.
The group has also traveled to India several times. In 2002, the group traveled to Mumbai, India to perform at the Star Screen Awards
Star Screen Awards
The Star Screen Awards is an annual awards ceremony in India honoring professional excellence in film. The nomination and award selection is done by a panel of distinguished professional from the industry itself.- History :...
, during which time the members appeared on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
Asia. In 2006, the group celebrated its 10th anniversary with a tour of India. The men performed at such venues as the National Centre for the Performing Arts
National Centre for the Performing Arts (India)
The National Centre for the Performing Arts , in Mumbai, India was established with a grant of Rs 4 million from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. This was later supplemented by donations from the corporate sector...
at Nariman Point
Nariman Point
Nariman Point is Mumbai's premier business district and country's first central business district. It was named after Khursheed Framji Nariman, a Parsi visionary. The area is situated on land reclaimed from the sea. It had the distinction of having the highest commercial real estate rental space...
in Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
and Swabhumi
Swabhumi
Swabhumi-The Heritage Park is an amusement park in Kolkata. It is situated on a natural hillock that has an elevation of 20m above mean sea level....
in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. In January 2010, the group did another tour across India, selling out the Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
s in New Delhi and Mumbai. Penn Masala also performed at the Oberoi Trident
Oberoi Trident
The Oberoi and Trident are two brands of five star hotels operated and sometimes owned by the Oberoi Hotels & Resorts located in several cities in India and across the world...
at a ceremony honoring the achievements of Reliance Industries
Reliance Industries
Reliance Industries Limited is an Indian conglomerate company headquartered at Mumbai, India. The company operates through three business segments: petrochemicals, refining, and oil and gas, other segment of the company includes textile, retail business, special economic zone development and...
Chairman Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Ambani
Mukesh Dhirubhai Ambani is an Indian business magnate. He is the chairman and managing director of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, the largest private sector enterprise in India listed in Fortune 500 magazine. His personal stake in Reliance Industries is 48%...
. Present were many notable personalities, including Nita Ambani
Nita Ambani
Nita Ambani is the Founder-Chairperson of the Dhirubhai Ambani International School.She is also the wife of industrialist Mukesh Ambani. She is actively involved in various philanthropic activities in the fields of education, human resources and disaster relief.Nita Ambani also is the Co-Owner of...
, director Rajkumar Hirani
Rajkumar Hirani
Rajkumar Hirani is a National Award and Filmfare Award winning Indian director, screenwriter and film editor of Hindi films, best known for the films Munna Bhai MBBS , Lage Raho Munnabhai and 3 Idiots , considered the highest-grossing Hindi film by distributor-share.-Early life and...
, director/producer Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Vidhu Vinod Chopra is an Indian director and producer. Chopra is the head of his own company, Vinod Chopra Productions, and is particularly known for producing the Munna Bhai films and 3 Idiots.-Early life:Born in a Punjabi family of Kashmir,...
, former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah , born 21 October 1937 in Soura, Jammu & Kashmir, India), is the son of Sheikh Abdullah, is a doctor of medicine and has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982. He is married to Molly, a nurse of British origin...
, actors Imran Khan
Imran Khan (actor)
Imran Khan is an Indian American film actor. He is the nephew of actor Aamir Khan and producer-director Mansoor Khan.Khan rose to stardom for his debut role in the 2008 blockbuster film Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na. The film won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut...
, Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose
Rahul Bose is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, social activist, and rugby union player.Bose has appeared in Hindi films such as Pyaar Ke Side Effects and Jhankaar Beats. Time magazine named him "the superstar of Indian arthouse cinema" for his work in parallel cinema films like English,...
and Vinod Khanna
Vinod Khanna
-Early life:Khanna was born to Kamla and Kishanchand Khanna, a textiles, dyes and chemicals businessman of Hindu Punjabi Khatri origin, on 6 October 1946, in Peshawar, British India . He has three sisters and one brother...
, and cricketer Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Tendulkar
Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar is an Indian cricketer widely regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the only male player to score a double century in the history of ODI cricket...
among others. The group also performed at the well-known Lumbini Park
Lumbini Park
Lumbini Park is a small public, urban park of adjacent to Hussain Sagar in Hyderabad, India. Since it is geographically located in the center of the city and is in close proximity to other tourist attractions, such as Birla Mandir and Necklace Road, it attracts many visitors throughout the year...
Amphitheatre in Hyderabad, and were featured in numerous media outlets, including NDTV
NDTV
NDTV is an Indian commercial broadcasting television network founded in 1988. It was founded by Prannoy Roy, an eminent journalist and current chairman and director of NDTV Group. NDTV currently has more than 1,000 employees producing news from over twenty locations in India...
, CNBC TV 18, BBC Asia
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
, The Hindustan Times, Zee TV, and CNN-IBN among others.
On October 14, 2009, Penn Masala performed at the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
in Washington, D.C. for the White House's celebration of Diwali and the signing ceremony of the Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. The event took place in the East Room
East Room
The East Room is the largest room in the White House, the home of the president of the United States. It is used for entertaining, press conferences, ceremonies, and occasionally for a large dinner...
, with attendees including President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Education, Associate Director of Public Engagement Kalpen Modi (also known as Kal Penn
Kal Penn
Kalpen Suresh Modi , best known by his stage name Kal Penn, is an American film and television actor, producer, and civil servant....
), members of Congress, and distinguished community members. Penn Masala opened the ceremony with a performance which was followed by a speech by President Obama, who commended their creative energy and contributions to the Asian American community.
Penn Masala continued reaching out to audiences abroad with a tour of the United Kingdom in March 2010. Among others, two notable performances were at St. James Piccadilly in central London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and in Hammersmith
Hammersmith
Hammersmith is an urban centre in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham in west London, England, in the United Kingdom, approximately five miles west of Charing Cross on the north bank of the River Thames...
, where the group headlined a nationwide music competition. In November 2010 Penn Masala performed in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, their first Canadian performance in ten years.
Penn Masala also holds a large annual spring concert at the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in the university's largest performance venue, Irvine Auditorium
Irvine Auditorium
Irvine Auditorium is a performance venue at 3401 Spruce Street on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was designed by the firm of prominent architect Horace Trumbauer and built 1926–1932...
. The concert features a wide selection of their songs, and incorporates humor throughout the show using skits and videos that often parody or spoof popular culture. The end of the show is usually marked by a traditional gathering of Masala alumni and current members of the group on stage to commemorate the group and its extensive alumni network.
Music
Penn Masala combines various musical traditions, including Hindi film music, popPop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, hip-hop, R&B, rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
, and Indian Classical
Indian classical music
The origins of Indian classical music can be found in the Vedas, which are the oldest scriptures in the Hindu tradition. Indian classical music has also been significantly influenced by, or syncretised with, Indian folk music and Persian music. The Samaveda, one of the four Vedas, describes music...
styles. The group also uses a wide array of languages in their songs. Their compositions are primarily sung in English or Hindi, but certain songs include Arabic, Punjabi, Kannada, and Tamil as well.
Penn Masala blends popular songs to create its own independent version, which is melodically and thematically unified. Most songs fuse popular Hindi and English songs (in the past the group has covered songs by artists such as U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
and Justin Timberlake
Justin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
), into an a cappella rendition. Some songs are purely Hindi; for example, "Mitwa" on Pehchaan, and "Yeh Honsla" on On Detours and others purely English, such as "What Goes Around Comes Around" on On Detours. Other songs, such as "Aicha" and "Aankhon Mein Tu Hai", incorporate Hindi and English lyrics into a single song. "Aankhon Mein Tu Hai" also includes Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
verses, "Saade Dil Te" incorporates a Punjabi
Punjabi language
Punjabi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by inhabitants of the historical Punjab region . For Sikhs, the Punjabi language stands as the official language in which all ceremonies take place. In Pakistan, Punjabi is the most widely spoken language...
song, while "Masala Dosa" begins with the Kannada hymn "Krishna Ni Begane Baaro
Krishna Ni Begane Baaro
Krishna Ni Begane Baro is a famous classical song in Kannada Language. It is composed in Raagam: Yamunaa KalyaaNi by Vyasatirtha. The Taalam is Misra Chapu .-Composer:...
" and "Aicha" includes Arabic verses.
While most of the group's songs are interpretations of already-existing songs, the group also composes originals, such as "Main Tanha" and "Pehchaan" on the album Pehchaan, "Kal Ka Sapna" and "Distant Places" on On Detours, and "Is Pal Mein" and "Kaash" on Panoramic.
Penn Masala's music has been popularly and critically acclaimed. "Meri Sapno Ki Rani" and "Aap Jaise Koi" were both featured in American Desi
American Desi
American Desi is a 2001 American film with Indian influence, notable for featuring many prominent South Asian American actors. Also featured is an a cappella version of the Hindi classic "Aap Jaisa Koi", sung by Penn Masala and originally from the movie Qurbani...
, while a music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
was made for "Chamak Challo", which debuted in the Top 10 on Channel [V
Channel V
Channel [V] is the brand name for multiple international music television networks owned by STAR TV and Fox International Channels, fully owned subsidiaries of News Corporation.-Channel [V] International:...
] India. Both "Chamak Challo" and "Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai", a celebration of India's 50th anniversary of independence
Indian independence movement
The term Indian independence movement encompasses a wide area of political organisations, philosophies, and movements which had the common aim of ending first British East India Company rule, and then British imperial authority, in parts of South Asia...
, brought immediate attention to the group in the fall of 1997, and have been fan favorites ever since. In early 2010, the song "Lovestoned/Ya Ali" was selected for Varsity Vocals' Best of Collegiate A Cappella 2010 CD. This marks the third time Penn Masala has been featured on the compilation. The group was previously honored for "Bharat Humko Jaan Se Pyara Hai" and "Pehchaan."
Members
Penn Masala is a living, evolving group. Made up of University of Pennsylvania students, the group's membership constantly changes as veteran members graduate and new members enter the group through an audition process.Penn Masala currently consists of: Akiff Premjee, Varshil Patel, Ram Narayan, Akshat Vaidya, Bharat Moudgil, Vinay Rao, Harshil Shukla, Samuel Levenson, Shriram Chauhan, Mahesh Murali, Rohan Murthy, and Dilip Rajan.
The group's early members included Naveen Wadhera, Alekh Dalal, Kunal Bajaj, Himanshu Sheth, Pankaj Kakkar, Mihir Talati, Abhijeet Patwardhan, Bud Bhattacharyya, Deep Trivedi, Brian Hong, Ameesh Shah, Veeral Rathod, and Ankur Gupta.
Albums
- Awaaz (1999)
- 11 PM (2001)
- Soundcheck (2003)
- The Brown Album (2005)
- Out of Stock (2005)
- Pehchaan (2007)
- On Detours (2009)
- Panoramic (2011)