Girl who took Indian music to Israel

Tel Aviv: Liora Itzhak — the popular Israeli singer of Indian origin greeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his host — the Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu at a private dinner in Tel Aviv on July 4 with Aaogey jab tum saajna — a haunting rendition by India's Ustad Rashid Khan and Pakistan's Rahat Fateh Ali Khan from the Bollywood film Jab We Met. 

In an exclusive interview with Deccan Chronicle over the phone Liora, who is originally from Ahmedabad in Gujarat, said that Prime Minister Modi is hugely popular in Israel and his visit will strengthen the cultural bonds between the two countries.  

"I was invited to Prime Minister Netanyahu's house for dinner and I sang 'aaogey jab tum saajna' and a Hebrew song which talks about relationships and peace. After my songs I went to them and they shook hands with me. I said Namastey to Modiji and I was surprised that he knew about me. He said that he had heard about me from my interviews with Indian TV channels and knew that I was from Gujarat. He even knew that I had gone to Poona (Pune), I told him that I came to India at the age of 15, that I went to Pune to learn Indian classical music and went to Mumbai and learnt from Padma and Suresh Talwalkar. I sang for Bollywood. I told him that my 86-year-old aunt in Mumbai was his big fan. He gave me a big smile," said Liora.

She met Mr. Modi and Mr. Netanyahu at another function on Wednesday."They called me to the stage to sing the national anthems of India and Israel.  I was very excited. It was a very exciting evening. The crowd was shouting 'Modi, Modi.' He has a lot of respect here. I found the discussion with him so nice. He is so nice, so polite. He is a good man. I think he is the best man for India," said an exuberant Liora.

She said during her stay in Indian between 1989 and '98 she realized that Indians loved Israelis, their army and their strength. "I was the first person to bring Indian music to Israel.  Modiji's visit will help what people like me are doing to bring the two cultures together. It's a very big help for the Indian community here. They are very polite people. One year ago I made a song malamala - a fusion of Hindi and Hebrew songs. It was a very big hit here. Now because of Modiji, things are going to change even in Israel," said the popular singer. She added that she would love to come back to Bollywood.