Coldplay’s concert marks celebration of music, culture

Martin belted out chartbuster tracks like "Paradise", "Viva La Vida", "Adventure of a Lifetime", "Yellow", "Fix You", and "A Sky Full of Stars", among others

Mumbai: From asking what ‘Jai Shri Ram’ means to giving a tongue-in-cheek shout-out to cricketer Jasprit Bumrah, Coldplay’s first concert in India in nine years was nothing short of a cultural celebration where the band’s frontman Chris Martin captivated the audience with his humour and curiosity.

There were plenty of unforgettable moments that resonated deeply with fans at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium where Coldplay kick-started their ‘Music of the Spheres World Tour’ in India.

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For two hours at the packed stadium, Martin belted out chartbuster tracks like “Paradise”, “Viva La Vida”, “Adventure of a Lifetime”, “Yellow”, “Fix You”, and “A Sky Full of Stars”, among others.

One of the evening’s most stand moments came when Martin noticed a fan holding a placard that read “Jai Shri Ram.” Curious, he uttered the phrase, igniting thunderous cheers from the crowd.

He then said, “What does Jai Shri Ram mean? Must be something good.” Martin’s innocent inquiry about the meaning of the phrase only heightened the audience’s excitement.

Throughout the evening, Martin made a concerted effort to connect with the audience in their native tongues. His attempts to speak Hindi and Marathi were met with overwhelming warmth.

At the beginning of the concert, he interacted with the crowd in Marathi, Hindi, and English. He began by saying in Marathi, “Tumhee saghre aaj chaan distat’ (You all look beautiful today). He then said in Hindi, “Aap sab ka bahut swagat hai humare show pe. Mumbai mein aakar hume bahut khushi ho rahi hai. (You’re all very welcome to our show. We feel happy after coming to Mumbai.) “Sorry, my Hindi and Marathi are bad but I tried my best,” he said, before switching to English.

The British musician thanked Indian fans for giving him the chance to play in one of “our favourite places in the whole world”. “This is our fourth visit to India, the second time playing, and the first time played our show, and we couldn’t have asked for a better audience. It’s amazing you welcome us,” Martin said.

Coldplay had earlier performed in the country in 2016 at the Global Citizen Festival in Mumbai. The British rock band also includes guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey.