India's first musical road: Mumbai's coastal road plays Oscar-winning song 'Jai Ho' for motorists | VIRAL VIDEO

Experience a "symphony in motion" on the Mumbai Coastal Road. India's first musical road now plays the Oscar-winning song 'Jai Ho' as motorists drive from Nariman Point to Worli.

Motorists in Mumbai can now experience a "symphony in motion" as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) officially inaugurated India’s first-ever musical road on Wednesday. Located on the Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Coastal Road, a 500-meter stretch of the northbound lane now "plays" the Oscar-winning tune Jai Ho as vehicles pass over it.

The innovative project was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who personally drove along the stretch to experience the melody.

The engineering behind the melody

The technology, developed in collaboration with experts from Hungary, turns the road surface into a mechanical instrument.

The Mechanism: Instead of electronic speakers, the road uses rumble strips or grooves carved into the asphalt at mathematically precise intervals and depths.

The Sound: When vehicle tires roll over these grooves at a constant speed of 70–80 km/h, the resulting friction produces vibrations. These vibrations generate sound waves that recreate the specific notes of the A.R. Rahman-composed hit Jai Ho.

Audibility: The tune is designed to be clearly audible inside the vehicle, even with the windows rolled up, providing a unique immersive experience for the driver and passengers.

A global rarity in urban infrastructure

With this launch, Mumbai becomes only the fifth city in the world to deploy "melody road" technology. Similar musical highways currently exist only in:

• Hungary
• Japan (where the concept originated in 2007)
• South Korea
• United Arab Emirates

The idea was conceptualized by former Member of Parliament Rahul Shewale and executed as a flagship feature of the Mumbai Coastal Road project. To assist motorists, the BMC has installed warning signboards at intervals of 500, 100, and 60 metres before the stretch to help drivers maintain the required speed.

Future roadmaps: Beyond Mumbai

The Maharashtra government views this pilot project as a potential standard for future infrastructure.

Chief Minister Fadnavis noted that the concept would be evaluated based on motorist feedback for further expansion along the coastal route. Meanwhile, Deputy CM Shinde expressed interest in replicating the "musical road" on other major state corridors, including the Samruddhi Expressway, to enhance the travel experience and potentially act as a safety feature to keep drivers alert.

As the Arabian Sea glimmered on one side, the inaugural convoy proved that Mumbai’s infrastructure is now capable of striking a patriotic note, one tire rotation at a time.

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