I stumbled upon New York-based Solar Punch’s version of a popular Bollywood song from the film “Swades.”

Solar Punch is an unusual band. Once you read about this eco-rock band’s mission statement, it became instantly clear why they chose to sing this Bollywood song. It fits with the band’s mission and the connection between Bollywood and energy.

Here is how the band describes its mission:

We use music to sing about SCIENCE and the ENVIRONMENT and hold workshops to help explain solar concepts and provide examples of where SOLUTIONS are in use at locations around the world! 

“Swades” is about an Indian-American NASA scientist, who returns to his village in India and helps build a small hydro-electric plant. This helps solve their energy problem. This Bollywood film is about science and environment and helping find a solution for their energy problem.

Founded in 2007 Solar Punch has released 3 albums and travlled extensively around the world. Their last album Saurya Yatra is from their performance in Nepal. The album consists of Nepali folk songs along with Sanskrit and Buddhist mantras.

Alan Bigelow, a co-founder of Solar Punch is a scientist who works with One Earth Designs, a company that makes SolSource Solar Cooker. He is an advisor for the Institute of Solar Technology in Howrah, West Bengal, India.