The Genius That He Is

He was nine, when an accidentally played tune on a piano, during his father's recording, was later developed into a complete song for a film.

His debut composition led him to receive the Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) award for Best Music Director at the National Film Awards, a record win for a first-time film composer.

He has since been awarded the Silver Lotus three more times, the most ever by any composer.

He started Panchathan Record Inn, a music recording and mixing studio, which is the most advanced recording studio in India and possibly one of Asia’s most sophisticated and high-tech studios.

He is a four-time National Film Award winner and recipient of six Tamil Nadu State Film Awards, fourteen Filmfare Awards and thirteen Filmfare Awards South for his music and scores.

He is none other than the musical maestro – AR Rahman.

Allah Rakha Rahman – the man who redefined contemporary Indian music and is the pride of the entire nation, a man who gave music a new meaning and class and is unarguably the world’s most outstanding and prolific music icon alive, celebrates his birthday today, i.e. 6^th January.

And what better way to wish the genius on this day but by posting about his too-humble-to-believe simple life and the grandiose status that he has achieved.

I’ve been an ardent Rahman fan since his first known film rendition for ‘Roja’ in Tamil. I never knew he would grow up to be someone he is today, but I’ve always maintained that his kind of music is something which will never die or go out of fashion.

A humble beginning as a keyboard player in Illaiyaraja's (another musical ace) troupe at the age of 11, Rahman defied all norms of traditional Indian music.

Yet his music is completely deep rooted in age old traditions. Testimony to this, are his skills and usage of Carnatic music, Western classical, Hindustani music, Sufi music and the Qawwali style of music.

Contradicting his present occupation as a music composer, Rahman actually wanted to grow up to be an electronic or computer engineer. He has mentioned in one of his interviews-“I was not crazy after music. I was more interested in technology".

This may be the reason for his love for electronic sounds and technology.

With a perfect blend of Indian conventional instruments with Western electronic sounds and technology, Rahman dishes out a unique platter of music which transcends all barriers and is appealing to all genres.

He not only broke barriers between South India and North India, but also between India and the World at large.

The awards and recognition, conferred upon this genius, speaks volumes of his immense talent and sheer hard work. Even as honors and awards keep flowing in from every corner of the world, his humble, modest, and down-to-earth personality remains unchanged all through the years.

Time and again, he proves himself as the ace of music, without taking any effort in doing so, through his meaningful and distinctive musical performances.

As a summation all I want to say about this musical legend is that, his soulful music bridged several gaps and brings a divine experience to those who listen to his melody. I take pride in his Indian origin and as he salutes mother India, I salute this larger-than-life personality with a ‘Jai Ho’ and ‘Rahman Tujhe Salaam’.

Long live the Maestro and Long live his Music and Melody!

PS: Below is a sneak peak into the star’s world-class studio in Chennai and his life in pictures. Hope you enjoy it!

New Year - New Resolutions

2012 gazed at me, as the morning sun filtered through my bedside windowpane, embracing me into the New Year.

It’s simply not sinking in yet that 2011 is now an affair of the past.

But as they say, we must always look forward to the future and not get stuck in the past. So here I am, looking forward to a liberating and refreshing year ahead.

However, just before walking into a promising future, let’s bask in the glory of the year that just passed. Like every year, 2011 too had its share of highs and lows.

There were moments of ecstasy like India winning the World Cup for cricket (Sachin hoisted on Team India’s shoulders as they took a round of the ground was a treat to watch) and Anna Hazare’s anti-corruption movement which brought together millions of Indians in a never-before-seen attitude (happy to have witnessed and be a part of the Anna-era).

There were moments of gloom with the demise of several beloved personalities like Dev Anand, Steve Jobs, Shammi Kapoor, Amy Whinehouse, Jagjit Singh, Sathya Sai Baba to name a few. Some heart-breaking incidents like the devastating tsunami that rocked Japan and many other natural disasters that shook the world apart.

And then there were moments which I fail to classify into a category like the deaths of Osama Bin Laden and Muammar Gaddafi, the unwanted and over-hyped media coverage for Beti-B, the media-born daughter of Aishwarya & Abhishek Bachchan, the Kolaveri-rage and its effects on social media etc.

That was 2011 in a nutshell. It was a rollercoaster ride, indeed.

Now 2012 is here!

With a New Year comes New Resolutions.

Many are against this funda of resolutions. They either don’t make a resolution or make a resolution just to break it in a couple of days.

I am no different in this manner.

However, bringing a ‘Change’ in my outlook this year, I just wondered if I should make a ‘Resolution’ and stick to it! And pop came the answer – Yes you should!

And the very first idea which came to my mind was to begin posting on my blog ‘Thought Studio’.

This blog was created almost 3 years ago, however I never found the time and occasion to start filling it. The desire was always there, but the motivation was zilch.

NOW is the time, I felt – New Year and its very New Resolution.

I promised myself to write one post at least every month, this New Year.

So here I am, rolling out my first post J

‘Thought Studio’ was born out of my brains to simply paint the canvas of this blog with my thoughts and views.

Hope I accomplish my newly made resolution and my year long aspiration to fill this ‘Studio’ with my ‘Thoughts’ and yet make it relevant to people out there.

I would like to keep my first post short and crisp, and so am ending it here with a promise to self to come back again with yet another post.

Till then wishing everyone a beautiful and a bountiful New Year!

Keep reading and keep writing!!