Living - Seven Brisbane Interviews Prahlada and the Krishna Kids -- Free the Soviet Hare Krishnas

Now, you may have seen, I'll just show you this little thing here. This is the Krishna Kids with Prahlad. This has been receiving quite a deal of attention in the media. And we have as our special guest this morning, the young man who put the song together, which is called Mr Gorbachev, Please Let Our Friends Go, Prahlad, and Gary Anderson, the PR man for the Hare Krishna Movement.

Gary and Prahlad, thank you for joining us. Thank you. Well, this is really, Prahlad, firstly, it really has created a lot of interest, hasn't it? Yes.

Did that surprise you? Yes. Where did you get the idea for the song? Well, one day in history class we were being told about how the devotees were being persecuted over there and then we heard about the young girl who died and I thought how that could have been me and how I wouldn't like it and that maybe Mr Gorbachev, he doesn't know about what's happening because he speaks so much on peace.

So Raman and I, we wrote a letter to Mr Gorbachev and then we had an idea of a song and then we wrote the lyrics down and it all came together. Have you had any response from Mr Gorbachev yet? Not yet, no. How long ago did you write?

A couple of months ago. So Gary, are you expecting to receive any response? We hope so. We're still waiting.

It goes through red tape over there in the Kremlin. Red tape, all right. But there is another song that Pilate is going to sing. It's dealing with the letter.

Mr Gorbachev, did you receive our letter? and that song will also be on the album that Pallard will be doing. From Pallard writing the song to getting on record, what channels did you have to go through? It was quite amazing how the whole thing came together. It was very quick, actually.

Pallard came to me with the idea for the letter at first. That letter was read on national television down in Sydney at the front of the Russian consulate, and then a week after that he came up with the song. So as a result of that, we approached a musician on the Gold Coast. He knew people at Springbrook Recording Studio.

From there, Rob Walker at EMI, he heard the song. And before we knew it, EMI were releasing it both in Australia and New Zealand and later on in the United States and Europe. Twelve years of age, worldwide recording contract, the sky's the limit. For those who haven't heard the song, we might give everybody a bit of a sample this morning.

Gary and Pralad. We'll sit back and enjoy this. Please, Mr Gorbachev, let our friends go. Gary, did the reaction surprise you?

It did, yes, because we expected the song to attract a lot of attention maybe within our own society, but it's really caught on amongst so many people within our community. Within Australia, there's articles that have been in New Zealand, there's been articles in the United States on Pralad, as well as Europe. and it's quite amazing. It's really amazed me, actually. Pralad, from this one, where do you go?

You got some more songs lined up? Yes. You'd like to do more recording? Yes.

And there apparently will be an album, Gary? There will be an album. We've negotiated with VMI and that album will be coming out some six weeks after the Gorbachev song. Pralad, you might just like to tell everyone this morning because here in Australia, the Hare Krishna people in other parts of the world are allowed to do whatever they want to do.

In Russia, that's not the case, is it? Not at all. What has happened there? They're putting them all in psychiatric hospitals and jails, labour camps, just because they believe in Krishna and they believe in that religion.

But they are able to read about Krishna in the Soviet Union, aren't they? No. People have smuggled books in? I don't know.

They're not permitted to read, but there are black market copies, I believe, Gary. Yes, there are books. In fact, in 1979, we had a book fair there, And that book fair is what drew a lot of attention to the books of our spiritual master, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami.

And those books, there's been many, many copies of the Bhagavad Gita, which is becoming very popular in the West, actually, smuggled throughout the whole Soviet Union. And we have over 10,000 congregational members now in the Soviet Union. Well, I hope, Mr. Gorbachev, here's the plea.

I hope you do get an answer to your letter. Thanks for joining us on the program this morning and talking about it. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Well, it is the International Year of Peace. One young gentleman is certainly doing something about it. I hope they're successful. Back with more on Libya in just a moment.