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KAUAI, HAWAII, February 6, 2005: HPI Note: Our ashram offices are here on Kauai, and our Saivite lineage comes from Sri Lanka, so we were struck by this remarkable connection between our island disaster of 1992 and that of Sri Lanka in 2004. The story reads:



A Hurricane ‘Iniki song cowritten by Kauaians Titus Kinimaka and Glenn Medeiros, is being used to boost the spirit of tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. Honolulu-based producer David Talisman called The Garden Island this week from Thailand with news of his efforts in bridging the relief effort following Hurricane ‘Iniki on Kaua’i in 1992 and the tsunami recovery now underway in Sri Lanka. Talisman shared the song writing credit along with Lester Gantan. The tsunami devastated coastal sections of the island nation located south of India on Sunday, December 26, with over 30,000 victims reported dead and some one million persons now homeless.



Instead of “Kaua’i Aloha,” the name of the song and a five-minute music video based on the song and made in late 1992, the rewritten song is titled “We Shall Rebuild,” Talisman said. The song and video were recorded in English, Sinhalese and Tamil. “It’s the official tsunami relief video in Sri Lanka,” Talisman said in an email to The Garden Island. “It’s being aired 24/7 on the TV stations there.”



The “Kaua’i Aloha” video featured hurricane damage footage and shots of well-known singers. A celebration held at the Kukui Grove Pavilion field was filmed for use in the video. Appearing in the video were the actor Pat Morita, who introduced the video; rock singer Graham Nash; singers Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and Jimmy Buffett; Kinimaka and Medeiros; Willie K; and the Honolulu Boys Choir.



“I shot some of the video for it (aerials) in Sri Lanka,” Talisman said of the new video. “The new Tamil and Sinhalese lyrics came from the stars of Sri Lanka,” he said. “The video was produced in Sri Lanka by Kili Rajamahendran of the Maharaja Corporation.”



The new Sri Lanka song, “We Shall Rebuild,” is here (windows media player).

The original “Kaua’i Aloha” video is here (Real Media Player).

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