U2 wrapped up their Joshua Tree 2019 tour with their first-ever show in India at Mumai’s D.Y. Patil Stadium on Sunday evening.
It was largely a standard Joshua Tree show until the encore section when Indian musical icon A. R. Rahman and his daughters joined the band to perform “Ahimsa”, a song he wrote and recorded with the band earlier this year.
“Included in this country are women, the most precious and rarest potential talent that we have,” Bono told the crowd, “and it’s 50 percent of this stadium. And we say, ‘Thank you for your patience in dealing with us men.’ Beyond singular figures and women and men, left and right, all religious groupings, work together for change. That’s how we get things going. That’s how we change the world. You, India, are the inspiration for this next song, which we have never played before. A song about the most powerful force in history, India’s greatest gift to the world, ahimsa.”
The word “ahimsa” translates from Sanskrit to “non-violence.” U2 released the song last month in anticipation of their show in India. “Ahimsa requires courage and strength,” A.R. Rahman said in a statement at the time. “A quality that is impervious to weapons or power. It’s a mission that is most needed to heal the modern world and it is incredible timing to collaborate with U2, with their amazing legacy, to revive this movement.”
The Mumbai show also featured the rare “shine like stars” bonus verse at the end of “With or Without You” and opening act Noel Gallagher joining the band on “Desire.” They closed out the night with “One” with both Gallagher and Rahman back on the stage.
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The Joshua Tree 2019 tour also included stops in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Singapore. U2’s future plans are unclear now that it is over. Their last new release was 2017’s Songs of Experience.