Aurko frontman and Alive India founder honoured for “Changing Lives Through Music – Making the World a Better Place” as his artistic journey transcends performance to champion livelihoods across India’s expansive creative ecosystem
SINGAPORE | BENGALURU, INDIA | 28 AUGUST 2026: — Indian singer-songwriter, composer, music creator and live performer Supratiek Shyamal Ghosh, founder-frontman of Aurko – The Rising Sun and founder of Alive India, has received the 26th Mother Teresa International Award for Music Excellence at a distinguished ceremony held at Alumni House – The Legacy, Singapore, on 26 August 2026.
The honour, conferred under the sphere of Singer / Music Excellence, represents Ghosh’s first international award on international soil and constitutes a consequential milestone in an extraordinary 26-year musical odyssey that has progressively metamorphosed from individual artistic expression into a larger endeavour devoted to creative empowerment, professional opportunity, livelihood generation and the strengthening of India’s wider music ecosystem.
The recognition celebrates his defining philosophy, “Changing Lives Through Music – Making the World a Better Place,” alongside his continuing “Sing to Save” mission — a vision through which he seeks to create meaningful opportunities for singers, musicians, emerging artists, creators, technicians and the extensive professional fraternity whose indispensable contributions frequently remain beyond the audience’s gaze.
A Distinguished Confluence of Cinema, Music and Culture
The Singapore ceremony assembled an illustrious constellation of personalities representing Indian cinema, music, fashion, culture and the international Indian community.
Among the distinguished personalities associated with the occasion were celebrated filmmaker Ramesh Sippy, whose extraordinary cinematic legacy encompasses landmark works including Sholay, Shaan, Shakti and Saagar; Terence Hamilton Ireland, Chairman of the Mother Teresa International Award Committee; acclaimed actresses Rituparna Sengupta and Padmini Kolhapure; and National Award-winning actress Seema Biswas.
The gathering also featured representatives of the Singapore Bengali Association Cultural Committee, Gauri Ireland, and nationally acclaimed, award-winning fashion designer Jaya Mishra, among other eminent cultural personalities.
The presence of such a distinguished assembly imparted an especially resonant cultural dimension to the occasion, transforming the award presentation into an elegant confluence of cinema, music, fashion, artistic expression, cultural heritage and international Indian identity.
Beyond the formalities of the ceremony, the occasion also fostered moments of artistic camaraderie and human connection. Ghosh shared what he described as a “Bond of Love & Creativity” with Seema Biswas, while the gathering created opportunities for interaction with eminent personalities from India’s cinematic and cultural fraternity.
For Ghosh, however, the evening signified considerably more than the acquisition of another accolade.
“This may be an award carrying my name, but the purpose carries thousands of names. For 26 years, music has given me a voice. My journey now is about using that voice so that more singers, musicians, creators, technicians and people behind the stage can be heard, seen and — most importantly — find dignified work through music.”
From One Singer to an Expansive Musical Ecosystem
Ghosh’s professional journey is rooted in his identity as a singer, songwriter, composer and live performer.
In 2000, he founded Aurko – The Rising Sun, the independent Indian band that became the foundation of his enduring musical voyage. Over the subsequent 26 years, Aurko’s trajectory has encompassed more than 2,700 live concerts across over 70 cities in India and internationally, establishing an extensive and distinctive presence within the independent and live-music landscape.
Yet thousands of performances offered Ghosh an education that extended far beyond the exhilaration of the stage.
Every concert revealed the immense professional fraternity operating behind the performer beneath the spotlight: instrumentalists, backing vocalists, composers, arrangers, producers, recording engineers, sound professionals, lighting specialists, LED and AV technicians, stage and truss crews, production personnel and numerous other creative professionals whose contributions are indispensable to the successful execution of any musical spectacle.
The deeper Ghosh ventured into this ecosystem, the more conspicuous became a fundamental reality: while audiences see the artist, an entire economic and creative architecture works behind that artist.
That realisation gradually transformed his professional question.
It was no longer merely:
“How do I find my next opportunity?”
It became:
“How can one opportunity create opportunities for many?”
That philosophical transition ultimately crystallised into a series of deceptively simple yet profoundly consequential formulations:
I → US
ME → WE
BAND → BRAND
STUDIO → STAGE
TALENT → OPPORTUNITY
PASSION → PROFESSION
MUSIC → LIVELIHOOD
When “I” Became “Us”: The Birth of Alive India
In 2010, this philosophy acquired institutional form with the establishment of Alive India in Bengaluru.
What began as an artist-led initiative subsequently evolved into a broader music, media and cultural ecosystem, connecting creators, brands, educational institutions, corporates, audiences and communities across 26 Indian states.
Its expanding architecture encompasses initiatives including Alive India Studio, Alive India in Concert, Alive India Rockstars, Alive India Music Foundation and Alive Emerge – Learn to Earn, alongside other platforms devoted to artistic development, professional exposure and creator opportunity.
The Bengaluru Music, Media and Creator Campus further seeks to provide infrastructure for recording, rehearsal, filming, collaboration and content creation, thereby attempting to narrow the frequently formidable chasm between artistic aspiration and sustainable professional engagement.
Meanwhile, Alive India in Concert, launched in 2012, developed into a multi-city live-music platform whose journey spans multiple seasons, Indian cities and collaborations with prominent performers.
The architecture may be diverse, but its philosophical foundation remains remarkably coherent:
“I to Us. Me to We.”
When Music Becomes Livelihood
For Ghosh, the transformative capacity of music cannot culminate merely in applause.
It must also generate opportunity, dignity and livelihood.
India’s contemporary music economy encompasses an extraordinarily extensive professional constellation — singers, instrumentalists, songwriters, composers, arrangers, producers, recording engineers, sound professionals, lighting specialists, LED technicians, AV professionals, stage crews, production teams and countless others.
Many remain invisible to the audience.
Yet without them, there can be no concert, recording, production or musical spectacle.
This conviction has informed what Ghosh articulates as Musicians Social Responsibility (MSR) — an approach that seeks to utilise an artist’s stages, infrastructure, professional relationships and creative ecosystem to facilitate meaningful opportunities for others.
Its elemental philosophy is encapsulated in the evocative formulation:
ROTI • KAPDA • MAKAAN • MUSIC • AUR ROZGAAR
The associated “Sing to Save” and “Changing Lives Through Music” initiatives consequently aspire to transcend conventional notions of charitable intervention.
The proposition is more structural: music itself can function as an economic and social instrument.
A concert can create assignments.
A recording can create assignments.
A studio can create assignments.
A brand collaboration can create assignments.
Professional infrastructure can create assignments.
And, crucially, one thoughtfully created opportunity can become the catalyst for several more.
The ambition is to help emerging and deserving talent traverse the journey from aspiration towards learning, professional exposure, recording, performance, collaboration and, ultimately, sustainable creative careers.
From Talent to Professional Dignity
For Ghosh, the objective is not merely to encourage people to pursue music.
It is to help establish music as a respectable, sustainable and economically viable profession.
A singer requires musicians.
A recording requires composers, arrangers, engineers and producers.
A concert requires technicians, stage personnel, sound professionals, lighting teams and production crews.
A creative enterprise therefore possesses the potential to generate an intricate chain of livelihoods.
It is this interdependence that lies at the heart of Ghosh’s evolving philosophy: when music grows, the ecosystem surrounding music should grow with it.
Recognition Beyond the Individual
Ghosh’s musical journey has previously attracted recognition across several platforms.
His achievements include the Make in India Music Excellence Award at the Indywood Film Carnival in Hyderabad, while Aurko’s independent musical journey has also been associated with recognition through platforms including MTV Super Select and Channel V’s Next Big Thing.
His public record additionally includes the St. Xavier’s Alumni in Action Award for Excellence in Performing Arts and an ISO 9001 Excellence Accreditation certified by JBR Harvard Inc., USA, through JBR World International.
Nevertheless, the Singapore recognition carries an unmistakably distinctive significance.
It is his first international award on international soil — and its symbolism extends beyond the performer himself.
It recognises the proposition that a musical career can evolve into an ecosystem capable of generating possibilities for others.
Singapore: An International Amplification of Purpose
The Singapore ceremony represented a significant cultural convergence.
The presence of prominent personalities from Indian cinema, music, fashion and cultural communities transformed the occasion into something considerably broader than a conventional award presentation.
The participation of the Singapore Bengali Association Cultural Committee further underscored the important role played by diaspora communities in preserving, nurturing and amplifying Indian and Bengali artistic expression beyond geographical frontiers.
The gathering therefore became an intersection of cinema, music, fashion, cultural heritage, international community and artistic fraternity.
For Ghosh, Singapore became not merely the geographical location where an award was received, but a platform from which his larger message could acquire renewed international resonance.
The Mother Teresa International Award
The Mother Teresa International Award is instituted by the All India Minorities and Weaker Sections Council (AIMWSC) and is now in its 26th year.
The award initiative has been conceived around the recognition of service, compassion and contributions intended to make society better.
For Ghosh, receiving the honour in Singapore consequently adds an international dimension to a philosophy that originated through his experiences within India’s independent music landscape.
Twenty-six years ago, the journey began with one singer searching for a stage.
It became a band.
The band became a 26-year musical journey.
The journey helped build an ecosystem.
And the ecosystem increasingly seeks to create opportunities for the people who make music possible.
From Being Heard to Helping Others Be Heard
The international recognition also carries a corresponding responsibility.
Ghosh hopes that the increased visibility generated by the Singapore honour can help make the broader creative ecosystem more heard, more seen, more searched and more found — ultimately translating visibility into tangible opportunities for singers, musicians, artists, composers, technicians and production professionals.
His post-award reflection captures the emotional and philosophical significance of the moment:
“I went to Singapore carrying an award home. But I returned carrying a bigger responsibility. If this recognition makes our purpose more heard, more seen, more searched and more found, I hope every bit of that visibility can eventually translate into another opportunity for somebody who deserves one.”
The trajectory can perhaps be distilled into five simple propositions:
ONE SINGER BUILT A BAND.
THE BAND BUILT A JOURNEY.
THE JOURNEY BUILT AN ECOSYSTEM.
THE ECOSYSTEM BUILDS OPPORTUNITIES.
AND THAT PURPOSE IS NOW BEING HEARD INTERNATIONALLY.
For an artist whose philosophy has progressively travelled from “I to Us” and “Me to We”, the Singapore recognition is therefore not a terminus.
It is another beginning.
The ultimate measure of the honour may not be where the trophy is displayed, but how many additional doors its visibility helps open.
After 26 years, the central proposition remains beautifully uncomplicated:
SING TO SAVE.
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH MUSIC.
MAKING THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE.
Because a voice becomes truly powerful not merely when the world listens to it, but when that voice possesses the generosity, resilience and strength to help another voice be heard.
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