SOUTHERN NEWS - KARNATAKA February 8, 2005 The message in a bottle: Won’t explain my songs, says Sting Friday February 4 2005 09:11 IST CHENNAI: ‘‘Sting is a name I have had for most of my life. My parents call me something else; but then they didn’t know me when they gave me that name. This name was given me by my friends who knew me really well.’’ That’s legendary singer Sting speaking about his own name. He was speaking to an eager crowd of reporters a day before his first concert in Bangalore. Dressed in black and a warm smile, Sting spoke about his music, his connection with India, his song writing, his book, his inspiration, politics and spirituality, while cameras clicked tirelessly. Sting’s first visit to India was in 1980. Since then, he has brought all his children here on holidays. For the last 15 years, he has been practising yoga. He says he enjoys Indian culture, music and people. About music, he says, ‘‘I know enough about Indian music to know I don’t know much. But I do know its complexity and I love it.’’ His own music has travelled through different genres and styles. ‘‘I regard music and religion as linked. It is an endless pursuit. My journey is to understand as much as I can. So far, my journey has been of a kind that goes by popular likes,’’ Sting explains. ‘‘I don’t belong to any particular religious denomination. This (music) is my God.’’ And it is sometimes his children who introduce him to new forms of music. ‘‘I have six children. The eldest is 28 and the youngest is eight. Their taste in music is very varied. It was my 18-year-old who told me about hip-hop,’’ he says. When asked if he wants to convey any message through his songs, Sting says that people should glean what the song is trying to say. ‘‘I am not going to explain a joke; it’s not funny anymore. I am not going to explain my songs either,’’ he says. Sting says that just about everything in his life has influenced him. But the encouragement to start was probably the popularity of The Beatles. ‘‘The Beatles gave permission to my generation in England to try. And I am one of the successful ones,’’ he says. The question, the answer to which was most eagerly waited for: ‘‘Will The Police get back together?’’ Sting says, after a laugh, that there would be two reasons to put the group back in order. One is financial, and the other nostalgia. ‘‘I am not very sentimental; not very nostalgic. And I am not interested in the money. So, no!’’ The ‘‘Sacred Love’’ concert will be held on Friday at Palace Grounds. ~Anne