Mumbai, January 19: WRITING music for children based on President A P J Abdul Kalam’s prose piece titled Igniting Minds to taking his music across The Great Wall, A R Rahman has a song for everyone.

Sadhna Sargam’s first international song may not be a love song for a Saathiya, but it echoes along the Silk Route from China to Turkey.

He Ping’s Warriors of Heaven and Earth set in the 7th century AD has an Indian twist—not only is it music director A R Rahman’s maiden venture into the Orient, but this is also a first for playback singer Sadhna Sargam.

‘‘I’ve never worked on an international project and am very happy since it’s a big honour to sing the theme song,’’ says Sargam of the mid-tempo track called Khamoshi Mein Pukar Hain with lyrics by Mehboob. The English version has been rendered by Korean vocalist Jolin Tsai.

Recalling the Chinese experience, Rahman reveals that the entire score was written in three days! ‘‘It was first meant to be a collaborative effort with the Beijing Philharmonic, but was cancelled due to the SARS outbreak,’’ he says, ‘‘But this only came as a blessing and we recorded the score in Prague with the Czech orchestra, which is one of the best in the world.’’

His Chinese links don’t end there. He’s been recently asked to compose a track for violinist Vannesa Mae’s world album.In Mumbai, to serve yet another cause—Save The Children India(STCI, the last one being for Cancer patients)—Rahman discusses how he has compartmentalised his time: ‘‘There’s family, film, social causes and spirituality. It’s too boring to do one thing all the time.’’

While his priorities are not necessarily in that order, Rahman admits that he instantly agreed to support STCI. ‘‘I’ve been donating money to the organisation for the last three years and this was a chance to actually do something,’’ he says.

So come Republic Day, the city will witness a Rahman concert where none less than the Big B will recite the President’s poem.

The 90-minute concert will include unreleased numbers such as One Mission and I Believe, as well as Bharat Manko from the film Roja and Maa Tujhe Salaam.

lalithasuhasini@expressindia.com