Amazing write up .. Good reminisciences... God willing, you meet up ARR soon... My hearty regards to you.
( Happy Bday vijay Iyer ) .. On Fri, Aug 22, 2008 at 3:58 PM, Dinesh Vaidya <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>wrote: > Here is a chance for all to make meaningful discussion. I will start > with my story as how I got hooked to Rahman's music...... > > The year was 1993, probably Jan end. I had gone to Hyderabad for > office work, had some spare time so met my family friends. They > recommended me to see a Tamil movie which was the talk of the town in > those days. The friend was at loss of words in describing the movie > and how it was different and all that. I had seen quite a few Tamil / > Telugu movies till then, thanks to our old DoorDarshan who used to > telecast regional movies at 1.30PM every sunday. So I ventured out to > see that movie. Unfortunately did not get ticket and returned to Pune. > But the name of the movie had registered in my mind. > > In Pune, I just casually checked with the local Video library ( > remember those VHS cassettes ? ) if he has heard of a Tamil movie > called ROJA. He dished out the cassette and I was on my way home. The > cassette rolled on and the chase of the terrorist in the Jungles of > Kashmir began with a low frequency droning sound and sudden sharp > tones in between. Something registered in mine and my family's mind > that this is not the standard Tamil movie, it is something different.... > > That day we watched Tamil Roja, WITHOUT SUBTITLES, at a stretch and > understood every word of it ! There was a general consensus that the > music is totally different. Over the next 24 hours, we watched the > movie twice or thrice, this time for the music and Background score. > The name RAHMAN had not registered in our heads even after that. > > Then the hunt for the Tamil Audio cassette started. I could not locate > the cassette anywhere in Pune but at Mumbai's VT station, I got a > cassette ( obviously pirated ) with Roja on one side and Surian songs > on another. I still have that cassette with me. > > One year later my career took me to Abu Dhabi where I was in the midst > of many Malyali / Tamil employees and got to see VCD movies of > Gentleman and Thiruda Thiruda, again, without subtitles. The music of > Thiruda Thiruda simply blew me away and I felt a distinct familiarity > with the music. The enquiry about Music Director yielded a reply > "RAHMAN". "Ah ! I have heard his music in Roja", I told my friends. My > Tamil friends suddenly started taking me seriously. They got for me > audio cassettes of Puthiya Mugham, Kadhalan and other movies which > were released by then. > > I returned to India in 1997 and during my immediate business trip to > Chennai, went to a Cassette shop in Adyar Signal and asked him to get > me whatever cassettes he had with RAHMAN as music director.......all > languages ! He enquired if I had come with enough money..... Luckily I > had..... > > Some years after, One Chennai based friend LAXMAN introduced me to > Rahman fan group and then I typed my first query on Vaishnavar audio. > Since then life is a nonstop joyful journey. Because of Rahman my > friends circle got expanded exponentially, Gopal, Vijay (Happy > Birthday Vijay !), Sirish, Amith, Durba, entire RAHMANIA performing > group "The Wandering Souls" consisting of my Nephews and Nieces, > supremely talented bunch of guys led by Anmol Bhave, and all of you > the face-less Rahmaniacs ! > > Now there is a definite purpose to living a meaningful life with > Rahman around, there is a non-stop Rahman song playing in the head, > the mobile ringtone is ofcourse Rahman. I found that Rahman music is a > definite cure to depression...... > > I have not met Rahman, not do I think I will ever get a chance to meet > him. But through his Music, I feel he is so close to me that if I do > meet him, I will probably say " Hello Rahman ! So we meet again....." > > I always thank GOD for introducing me to Rahman's music........ > > Best regards > Dinesh Vaidya > Pune (22 Aug 2008) > > > -- regards, Vithur ARR -- The Sweet Cube always
