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. 6th
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!
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