Music band spices up US polls, sings: please vote

THIS IS ONE FOR THE VOTER: Penn Masala, formed in 1996, is band of 14 students.

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Philadelphia: As Pennsylvania gears up to hold its crucial Democratic primary on Tuesday, Penn Masala, a band of Indian-American students is doing its best to spread the message of how important this election really is.

Penn Masala, formed in 1996, is now a permanent fixture at the University of Pennsylvania. It has 14 members, who sing a-cappella—that is without instruments. They perform all over the country and even sell their compositions online.

And with the Pennsylvania primaries around, these students are tuned into the 2008 Presidential election. The band endorses no candidate, but its members are working to increase voter turnouts on Tuesday.

“Three of the major political organizations on the campus—the PennDemocrats, the Republicans and Penn Leads the Vote—they're working together under the auspices of their own organisations and student government to facilitate a great voter turnout this time,” says Ankit Dhir, a member of Penn Masala.

Obviously, Indian-American students on this campus are excited. “Such a competitive race and the many interesting issues that are being presented really raises the level of excitement among myself as well as the broader South Asian youth community,” says: Nikhil Marathe, member of Penn Masala.

“I think they're forecasting a record turn out for a primary here on campus and we're very excited to see how that turns out,” says Ricky Sharma, of Penn Masala:

There's been much discord among the Presidential candidates leading up to the primaries on Tuesday but the members of Penn Masala are doing their bit to bring some harmony into the process.