A Billion Hands Concert was a benefit performance held on 5 December 2008 in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, by

Anoushka Shankar Anoushka Shankar (born 9 June 1981) is a British-American sitar player, producer, film composer and activist. She was the youngest and first woman to receive a British House of Commons Shield; she has had 7 Grammy Awards nominations and was the ...

and Jethro Tull. All proceeds from the concert went to victims of the

November 2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from Pakistan, ...

. The concert was originally planned as part of a larger tour throughout

by Shankar and Jethro Tull. The Mumbai leg of the tour was originally scheduled for 29 November 2008, three days after the attacks. After they cancelled the concert, the web-based platform ''A Billion Hands: For a Better Tomorrow,'' that was founded by Web18's COO Rishi Khiani and supported by

Network 18 Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...

, asked Shankar and Jethro Tull if they would consider holding a benefit concert instead. ''A Billion Hands Concert'' took place on 5 December 2008 in Mumbai. Jethro Tull frontman Ian Anderson stated in a press release that, "some people might consider it disrespectful that we are having a concert but hopefully a majority will realise what this is about and what it says."Mumbai hosts first concert after deadly attacks
/ref> Shankar added that: "as a musician, this is how I speak, how I express the anger within me ..our entire tour has been changed by these events and even though the structure of the concert may remain the same, emotionally perhaps we are saying a lot more." Farhad Wadia, CEO of E 18, stated in response that: "We are very grateful to both Jethro Tull and Ms. Shankar for agreeing to perform at this concert, in spite of the terror attacks and at their splendid contribution towards the victims of the horrific attacks in Mumbai. Though it's a much abused thought, this truly is a reflection of Mumbai's strength and character and its willingness to forge ahead. It's important that we use this platform to spread the word of peace and harmony."

References

External links

Official website

- Video interview with

- Jethro Tull, Anoushka Shankar in first post-attack Mumbai concert
{{DEFAULTSORT:Billion Hands Concert Benefit concerts Terrorism in India 2008 in music