Indian sisters in Aus win hearts, set record with rendition of 193 national anthems

Thiruvananthapuram, Sep 24:  Two sisters from Kerala, Teresa, 21, and Agnes, 18, won the hearts of millions of people after they recited the national anthems of 193 countries on World Peace Day on September 21.

The sisters who live in Brisbane, Australia recited the national anthems from the St. Johns Cathedral in Brisbane and entered the Australian Book of Records, and won a certificate from the Universal Record Forum.

The sisters hailing from Thycattusery in Cherthala Taluk of Alappuzha district in Kerala have been living in Australia since 2008 with their parents Joy K Mathew and mother Jaquiline Joy who is a nurse.

The girls said that their father Joy K Mathew who was involved with the Malayalam film industry has been a major inspiration for this venture.

The girls while speaking to the media said that their father took pains to find the correct verses of each country's national anthem.

Teresa while speaking to Kerala media persons said, "Our father even contacted several embassies to get the correct version of the national anthem of each country and also got in touch with teachers of various countries to help us get the correct pronunciation of the anthem".

While Teresa is a third-year criminology and psychology student at Griffith University in Queensland, Agnes is a grade 12 student at the Calamavale Community College.

Teresa and Agnes had done their schooling at Thycattuseri in Alappuzha district before shifting to Australia in 2008.