Sting to perform in India

How can you say that you're not responsible?
What does it have to do with me?
What is my reaction, what should it be?
Confronted by this latest atrocity.

- Driven to tears, by Sting

Adding a sudden, special poignancy to the name of his latest album, Sacred Love, pop phenomenon Sting will perform two concerts for tsunami relief in India. Though these will not be his first performances here, this will be the first time the singer has full-fledged solo concerts in a country that has fascinated him for decades.

Rumours speculate he makes anonymous trips to India -- Jaipur, Rajasthan -- almost every year. They also say he loves kebabs and all things spicy. 

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The concerts in India are to be staged in Bangalore on February 4 and New Delhi on February 6.

Sting has long expressed a desire to interact with India on a more personal level. The news brings a smile not just to the faces of music fans, but the noted environmentalist -- best known to champion the cause of preserving rainforests -- wants to do his bit for the tragically hit areas.

The rocker is also supposed to headline a concert in Australia on February 10 for the same purpose. Venkat Vardhan of DNA Networks, managing the event, makes it clear the funds generated from the India concerts will help affected areas in India only.

To coincide with the India performances, Universal Music is readying to release a special limited edition of the 2003 album, Sacred Love, featuring some unreleased Sting rarities. The album features Pandit Ravi Shankar's daughter Anoushka Shankar strumming sitar in one track, The book of my life.

For rock fans still unsure about how to donate to tsunami relief, a legend has just 'sent them out an SOS.'

Photograph: Getty Images