On 56th Earth Day, people across the globe mark the day with Indian poet’s Earth Anthem

People across the world marked the 56th Earth Day with a coordinated global reading of the “Earth Anthem,” a poem by Indian poet and diplomat Abhay Kumar that calls for viewing the planet as a shared home for all species, APA reports.

The anthem was read, recited, and recorded across multiple continents, bringing together voices from countries including Iran, Azerbaijan, India, and Madagascar. Participants delivered the poem in a wide range of languages, reflecting its global reach and inclusive message. Among those contributing were readers in Persian, Russian, Sanskrit, Hindi, Malagasy, Kazakh, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, French, Spanish, German, and Kashmiri.

he Azerbaijani segment featured multiple participants, highlighting the country’s active involvement in the initiative and underscoring the anthem’s resonance across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

Written in 2008, the Earth Anthem draws from the ancient Indian ideal of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, which sees the whole Earth as a single family, including all the species with whom we share this planet, as well as from the iconic Blue Marble image captured by the crew of Apollo 17, revealing a fragile, luminous planet suspended in space. The poem compared Earth to a “cosmic oasis” and a “blue pearl”, with a shared destiny.

Written in 2008 by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K. in St. Petersburg, Russia, Earth Anthem is a song that eulogizes the Earth, its beauty, and its biodiversity. It is a song that anyone can sing, anywhere, any day, to pay tribute to planet Earth. It was put to music by Sapan Ghimire in 2013 and sung by Shreya Sotang. Later, its music was composed by violin maestro Dr. L. Subramaniam, and Kavita Krishnamurti sang it.

Earth Anthem has been translated into 160+ world languages, including all six official UN languages, and is used across the world to celebrate Earth Day and World Environment Day. It was played at the United Nations to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day in 2020.

Earth Anthem has featured in over 250 leading publications globally including BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Times of India, The Hindu, Indian Express, Financial Express, NDTV, Reader's Digest, Tatler, Diario Madrid, CNBC, Khaleej Times, China Daily, Correio Braziliense, Midi Madagasikara, Magical Cambodia, Illinois Centre for Global Studies, University of Iowa, University of Texas, Azim Premji University, British Council among others.

Earth Anthem
By Abhay K.

Our cosmic oasis, cosmic blue pearl
the most beautiful planet in the universe
all the continents and all the oceans
united we stand as flora and fauna
united we stand as species of one earth
diverse cultures, beliefs and ways
we are humans, the earth is our home
all the people and all the nations
all for one and one for all
united we unfurl the blue marble flag.

Nobel Laureate for peace, Kailash Satyarthi commented -"Vedas- the first book of universal knowledge and wisdom says, 'Bhumi Mata Putroaham'- which means 'Earth is my mother, I am her son'. This is one of the essentials of ancient Indian philosophy. Every effort to protect and respect Mother Earth is an effort to protect ourselves and our generations to come. The Earth Anthem is a beautiful effort in this direction. Thanks to all. Best wishes to Abhay Ji."

UNESCO has noted "We find that the idea of having an Earth Anthem is a creative and inspiring thought which would contribute to bringing the world together."

Dr. Shashi Tharoor feels that "...a global consciousness has certainly begun to emerge. To tap into this nascent consciousness and give it form and focus, we need to establish a common language and common icons. In time, then, emerging generations of global citizens would come to rally around these, in realising their debt to and in paying tribute to the planet that sustains us all. What better icon, then, than our planet itself, and what more universal language than music!...an Earth Anthem shared and sung by all the peoples of the world."

Abhay K. is the author of a dozen poetry books, including Celestial, Stray Poems, Monsoon, The Magic of Madagascar, and The Alphabets of Latin America, and is the editor of The Book of Bihari Literature, The Bloomsbury Book of Great Indian Love Poems, Capitals, New Brazilian Poems, and The Bloomsbury Anthology of Great Indian Poems.

His poems have appeared in over a hundred literary magazines, including Poetry Salzburg Review and Asia Literary Review. His ‘Earth Anthem’ has been translated into over 160 languages. He received the SAARC Literary Award (2013) and was invited to record his poems at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., in 2018. His translations of Kalidasa’s Meghaduta and Ritusamhara from Sanskrit won him the KLF Poetry Book of the Year Award (2020–21). His translation of the first Magahi novel Fool Bahadur has been widely acclaimed, and his translation of The Hanuman Chalisa won him the Sarojini Naidu Award for poetry.

His book Nalanda: How it Changed the World, published by Penguin Random House, became a national bestseller.

Abhay's paintings on the Buddhist philosophy of 'Sunyata' have been exhibited at the Bihar Museum, Patna, and the National Museum, New Delhi.